


The Nebulous

by TheBiblioklept



Category: Overlord - Maruyama Kugane & Related Fandoms
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Armageddon, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Tags May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:47:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 57,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27958619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBiblioklept/pseuds/TheBiblioklept
Summary: A star fell from the sky the third day after Ainz arrived in the New World. Follow along as a different Yggdrasil player encounters the denizens of the New World and the inhabitants of Nazarick. This newcomer will strive to unite the world against Armageddon, but will he be able to convince the Overlord to join his cause?
Comments: 15
Kudos: 24





	1. A Star Falls

**Chapter 1: A Star Falls**

**AN: Much of Overlord, such as abilities and items, are often open to interpretation. I do my best to interpret these things in a way that makes sense, but some things in this story may work slightly differently than how others might understand them.**

**Also, any and all reviews are appreciated! I am really enjoying writing this, and would love if people let me know what they did or didn't like. Many thanks**

**Please Enjoy :)**

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A lone figure peered out over the valley below him.

“Well it’s finally come to an end. Man, I’m really bummed it’s over.” He sighed. “But I still can’t believe I picked _these_ up! I doubt anyone’s even going to believe me when I tell them I collected 4 World Items. _And_ I even got two of the Twenty! That’s just bonkers.” Matthew chuckled to himself as he opened up his inventory. Within that plain brown grid sat his glowing prizes, waiting to be put to use. He knew he’d never get the chance, but he was damn proud of his accomplishments.

He was right too, no one in their right mind would have believed he could collect that many legendary items. It wasn’t to say he was a weak player within the game, in fact just the opposite. During the “golden months” as he and his friends called them, they were a feared group of player-killer assassins. So much so, that they had become known throughout the game as The Hunters.

But World Items were in their own league when it came to Yggdrasil equipment.

Just about every powerful group in the game coveted them, and fought tooth and nail to collect even one. The largest and most successful guilds could accumulate and maintain maybe two to three at a time normally, with the most famous being the group of Ainz Ooal Gown collecting an impressive 11 World Items.

But now, many of the once prominent guilds no longer buried their World Items behind impenetrable vaults and guards. As the end of Yggdrasil approached, players that remained became more cavalier with their playstyles. Normally it would have been unheard-of to carry around a World Item without a platoon of allies surrounding you, but what did it matter anymore? The game was finished and there wouldn’t be any New Game Plus.

Most guilds were left with one or two players and many of them just wanted to have some fun flaunting their power one last time, perhaps in honor of their absent comrades.

Matthew however, wanted to make the most of the end times and so he began a fresh bounty hunting campaign. There had been plenty of player-killers and guilds that harbored them that Matthew and his merry band had never gotten the chance to eliminate, so now was the time. He wanted to see how far he could go, and what kind of treasure trove he could amass!

And amass he did, even more than he would have hoped for! World Items, unique one-time summons, and many fascinating divine-class items now sat in his inventory.

Although, not that it would truly matter much once the servers shut down. In just under an hour, he would be forcibly logged out, just like everyone else still left in the DMMORPG. He had enjoyed his time though and that’s what mattered to him.

Reminiscing, he figured he could read through his player description one last time.

 **Name:** Vörðr

 **Race:** The Nebulous

Smiling he remembered how intrigued he and his friends were when they read about this race, and how much he loved his character’s name. He had chosen his name because it meant a Warden or Caretaker spirit in Norse mythology, and that really fit well with the overtones of Yggdrasil itself. Clicking on the race link, another window popped up and he began to read.

Once, Vanaheimr was a peaceful and fertile land, but the Gods known as the Vanir saw a future of terror and destruction approaching. Soon their world would begin to break apart, and a void would threaten to rip the very fabric of their domain. So, the Vanir created what is now known as the Nebulous; a race of beings said to have been formed from the stars themselves.

The Nebulous begin life just barely corporeal. They appear as whisps, glowing faintly and emitting a continuous mist from their bodies. As they grow and mature, their form gains a more definite shape and pin pricks of light begin to shine inside of their body. If one were to look at a fully matured Nebulous without clothing, it would appear as a void of darkness in the shape of a human. They have no skin, bones, or organs, but nebulae, molten planets, and other cosmic entities that appear to float within them. This cosmic matter seems to shift and change like the universe itself, and it is said that a normal human can fall into a deep trance if they stare at an uncovered Nebulous for too long. Though its facial features are nearly impossible to distinguish, if a Nebulous even has any, each entity will have a pair of twin stars that serve as its eyes. These stars will pulsate in intensity based on the emotions of the Nebulous.

These beings do not have separate mana and health as most of the denizens of Yggdrasil do, but rather one bar called Essence. Their Essence represents their ability to remain corporeal as well as cast spells. This means that a Nebulous must carefully consider the weight of each spell that they cast and the damage they take, as any mistakes could leave them drained and unable to continue.

Note: A Nebulous can take health or mana potions and both will directly replenish their Essence.

Most describe the voice of a Nebulous not as a singular entity, but as a soft melody or gentle chorus of voices. There is always a dominating tone unique to each Nebulous, perhaps denoting male or female, but a million other voices would always whisper in tandem as they speak.

Above all, the Nebulous recognize that they are made as tools for the Vanir, and as such they are tasked with the protection and care of Vanaheimr. They are to fight back the encroaching void and its horrors. The old gods never told their creations whether they foresaw victory or defeat, but the Nebulous continue to fight their battle to protect all living things.

Matthew closed the window, and new memories flashed though his mind.

He remembered how entranced he and his buddies had been with that backstory. They decided to role-play that race, and take the story even further. That is when they decided to become player-killer hunters. For them, based on the Nebulous background, any sentient creature should have no time for the killing of other intelligent life. As the Yggdrasil tree was besieged by horrors and the world eater, they believed player killing, including the killing of demi-humans or heteromorphs, was an act of absolute evil.

As such, they would hunt those they deemed as malicious and punish them for their atrocities. Ultimately, it was their view that if the “in-fighting” were to cease, all life could be united to fight back against the end of the world.

While seemingly noble, their hunting did not come without rewards that they took great pleasure in displaying. Matthew and his friends managed to garner a number of impressive pieces of loot from their quarry. Given their chosen goals, they didn’t have time to dungeon dive very often, but one wouldn’t have guessed based on their equipment. Salvaged off of many slain foes, they sported impressive armor and weapons.

It wasn’t all good for them though, as many guilds and players weren’t happy about being targeted. Most of those that killed heteromorphs considered it an injustice that The Hunters targeted them as well, since the game itself didn’t consider those killings “Pking”. This created an interesting dynamic where many players appreciated what Matthew and his crew were trying to do, whereas other groups put out bounties for their heads. Sometimes they got caught and were killed, other times they gave their pursuers the slip or even a few nasty scars for their troubles.

His playstyle made him more enemies than friends overall he figured, but he was proud of his accomplishments. He and his band of miscreants had had a blast and role-played the hell out of their days.

Matthew brought himself back to the present continue to read through his character description.

 **Level:** 100

 **Main Class:** Paladin

 **Subclasses:** Master Assassin, Spell Caster, Blacksmith, Bounty Hunter, World Champion of Vanaheimr, Fury of the Gods, Warden

Matthew rubbed his chin as he looked at his classes. Some were simply to assist in their bounty hunting, whereas others represented the best of his accomplishments. His World Champion of Vanaheimr title was his personal favorite as it took defeating countless other players in a world tournament. He knew that his PvP skills were top notch, considering his profession in-game, but to achieve the World Champion title had been nothing short of mind-blowing. It’s safe to say that night Matthew had gathered as many people as he could and celebrated until he passed out drunk.

 **Maximum Level Traits:** Immortal Instrument, Coalescence, Singularity

At level 100 a Nebulous gained three unique traits along with a healthy boost to all of their stats.

The first of these traits is called “Immortal Instrument”, which unfortunately wasn’t quite as amazing as it sounded. Quite simply, if the player was slain this trait would allow them to choose to forgo the loss in XP and the random item drop, but at the cost of being resurrected four weeks of real-time later. After resurrection the player would also be vulnerable for the next 30 hours of in-game time, unable to activate this trait. In the flavor text, it was stated that the old gods, rather than let their tool suffer a death, took the time to remake and repair them.

Matthew considered this trait cool and all, but for him four weeks of playtime was almost always more than enough to get back to his pre-death level and equipment status.

One might think that the guilds would have been all over this, and just stacked all their treasures on a Nebulous player in-case they were being raided, but that would mean waiting through a four-week gap without one of their top players and all the equipment he had been carrying. A few guilds had tried this tactic early on, but during those four weeks their bases had been raided so much that after the Nebulous player returned, they were almost entirely on their own and killed within hours.

The second end-game trait was called “Coalescence” and was a goldmine for a role-player like Matthew. It allowed for the player to assume a human form for a period of time each day. Although if the player performed any large spells or took enough damage, the form would be broken.

The human form was custom, so sticking with the Norse theme and paying tribute to his own red hair, Matthew made a red-haired Viking with what he described as a “glorious” red beard.

There were no inherent combat skills added via this spell, but it did allow Nebulous players to adopt their human form as a disguise if they were smart about it.

The final trait was an ability picked from a list of three. Each was equivalent to a Super-Tier spell, but with a unique twist related to the Nebulous origins.

The first option is called “Pulsar.” A beam ability that caused massive piercing and magic damage. This ability had damage equivalent to some of the stronger Super-Tier offensive abilities, but with only a 10 second casting time. The downside being a 42% drain on the player’s Essence to use this spell, meaning that the player could only cast this twice before killing themselves with the Essence cost.

Option two is “Singularity” which allowed the user to create a black hole for a period of time with only a 7 second cast time. The formed singularity would become a gravity well that pulled on nearby players and NPCs, no matter their size or flying capabilities. If an enemy stayed within range long enough, they would be picked up and begin to orbit the spell.

Another bonus was that the black hole would redirect and absorb any projectiles or projectile spells, as well as periodically disrupt spells that required casting time of any enemies nearby it through the buildup and release of “radiation”.

The Singularity would act as a constant Essence drain on the player however. As if the player was an orbiting star, the black hole would suck their essence out in order to maintain itself. While initially minimal, the drain would increase multiplicatively over time. A larger Essence pool could keep the spell active longer, as could the use of mana or health potions, but eventually the spell would drain the player dry if not cancelled in time.

The last ability option was called “Worm Hole.” As one might guess this ability allowed for instantaneous medium-range teleportation, usable two times a day. This spell did not use any Essence nor could it be interrupted like most other teleportation spells in the game.

Matthew, being a PK hunter, had decided that once he got the drop on someone, keeping them stuck to an area and absorbing all damage from them sounded really handy, so he had picked the “Singularity” ability.

Moving on past his character description, the man looked at his friends list. His excitement over his accomplishments was dulled by the graveyard of unlit names. “None of my buddies could get on for the end.” He grimaced, but after a moment brightened, “but I’ll see them in a few months for our get together, so I guess it’s ok. I’ll tell them all about how they missed my sweet kills.”

His friends list may have been empty but as he scrolled through his acquaintance list, he saw a few names still lit up:

Altaier

Deadly Knees

Likeness

Massive Damage the 3rd

Momonga

Tomantics

ZeeDawg

He smiled to himself. Each of those players had been nice enough when he had interacted with them. Some even had messaged him to congratulate him after he killed them or one of their guild mates. He briefly considered reaching out to one or two of them, but held himself back.

“They’re probably reminiscing just like I am. And honestly, I didn’t really know most of these guys very well beyond a few messages here and there… I shouldn’t intrude.”

For his part, Matthew was content enough to peer out from his mountain hideout and look out into the starry sky above. Once his final hour in Yggdrasil was almost up he closed his eyes and waited.

23:59:58

23:59:59

00:00:00

He was still waiting, but suddenly the player felt… strange.

Matthew opened his eyes but all he saw was blackness. “Are you kidding me? Did my game really crash at the end?” He was going to try his menu or force a logout, but then a pale blue dot seemed to materialize off in the distance.

“That’s… odd.”

Mesmerized, he watched as the blue dot got bigger. It grew in size until he could start to make out details.

“Is that… a planet?” He pondered. Soon what had been a dot had become a great sphere, and was continuing to grow in size. Soon the planet took up most of his field of vision, and he finally noticed he was not going to sail by it. No, his trajectory would smash him directly into it!

“Ooooh hell no! This is fucking terrifying! What the hell is going on!?”

Matthew’s heart-rate skyrocketed, his body hurtling forwards into the blue and green world below him. All thoughts of the game left his mind as his apparent demise rapidly approached. He entered the atmosphere and within a few seconds his vision was filled with a white-hot light, then everything went black again.

All was quiet.

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Momonga, flying high above the clouds stared down at the planet below him.

“I can see so far with just the light from the moon and stars!” He marveled to himself. “I can’t believe that this world is real, Blue Planet-san!” Then he spoke aloud, “The stars in the sky are glittering like a box of jewels.”

“I believe this world shines so that my lord can adorn himself with its riches” The Arch-Devil Demiurge spoke.

Momonga turned to look at his companion and chuckled lightly. “That may be true. I may have come to this land to obtain this box of treasures. No, it’s not something I should hoard for myself. Perhaps, this is so I can adorn Nazarick and my friends of Ainz Ooal Gown with it.”

Demiurge bowed slightly. “If you wish it, we will use all the forces of Nazarick to obtain it for you.”

Momonga chuckled again. “At this point, when we don’t even know what exists out there? But, well, taking over the world might be enjoyable.” Demiurge started in awe, the plan that his master had begun to form also took root in his mind. Then the skeleton turned away and thought to himself, “Well, there’s no way we’d be able to do something like that. Even so, am I really the only one who came here from Yggdrasil? My message skill didn’t reach anyone, but it might be because they’re too far away. Or the effects of the magic have changed. If that’s the case,” he sighed “if the name of Ainz Ooal Gown is spread throughout the world…”

Basking in the light of the moon above Momonga watched as a shooting star seemed to form. Transfixed by it, he was startled when a brilliant blue halo exploded off of the object, and then another halo erupted, this time in red. Just as quickly as it appeared the object fell beyond the horizon and the light faded.

Turning back to his guardian, the guildmaster pondered. “Demiurge, do you suppose that was simply a regular meteorite?”

“I do not know Momonga-sama. If you desire, we shall send a group to find the cra – ” The Arch-Devil’s response was cut off as an incredible shockwave blew by them. After a few seconds he regained his voice. “No Momonga-sama, I do not suspect that it was a regular meteorite.”

“I believe you are correct, but at this time I do not believe that it is wise to send a party so far away. We still have so much to learn about this land. We will remain in the immediate area for now. But we will need to keep a look out.”

“As you wish!” He bowed as he hovered, humbled by his lord’s wisdom.

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“ – you think it is?”

“I’m not sure, but we need to find – ”

“ – go down there – ”

“ – your job.”

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Matthew felt a weird sense of calm. His mind vaguely recalled a terrifying experience of falling to earth, but he was sure it was just a weird dream. He would open his eyes and find his sheets twisted up at the foot of his bed, as they tended to be when he had an intense dream. Then he would get up and get ready for a relatively boring Saturday.

Hm, his bed felt rather firm today. Or perhaps he was on his floor and not his bed, having fallen off in the night. As he reached out, all he felt was a solid warm surface, smooth ridges bumping against his fingers.

“What?!” His eyes burst open and he immediately beheld a bright blue sky above him. Puffy clouds meandered overhead, careless of the world below. Utterly confused the player rolled his head to the side and noted another oddity; it appeared as though he was laying at the bottom of a crater. Glossy smooth rock rolled upwards away from him like a wave, cresting far away. His jumbled thoughts seemed to stop and start as he rolled over and steadied himself, slowly rising to his feet.

Briefly, the ground lit up below him in a complex pattern of lines and runes that felt vaguely familiar.

“What is going on?” The man questioned internally. “I need to get myself out of this crater and find out where the hell I am.” As he took a step forward the light from the pattern increased in intensity before shattering like a pane of glass at his feet. “What was that?!” He wondered as the runes and lines faded from existence.

Matthew’s ever-increasing confusion grew to a raucous symphony in his head as he began to hear voices above him. They sounded like they were shouting or something.

“It shattered!” A high-pitched voice rang out.

“That was a triple-layered 5th tier binding spell!” A rumbling voice said in return.

“What in the blue blazes?!” Another voice called.

Yet another voice joined the fray, sounding surprisingly calm given the state of those around him. “Go inform the captain now! Ilta! Cedran! You’re with me, we need to stop this thing from leaving the crater until the captain gets here.”

Matthew barely had time to think before three figures appeared at the edge of the crater in front of him.

“Greetings!” A blond man in what appeared to be Mardi Gras-esque cloak called down to him. “Do you understand me?”

Beside the man, a woman floated on a red orb and peered down between locks of blue hair. Just to her left another man stood, this one stocky with massive bulging muscles, and deep auburn hair. Each of them took stock of what was looking back at them.

They had seen it earlier as their team had set up the binding trap, but their leader had kept them as far away as possible while they waited for further orders. It wore black armor over most of its body, except a grey hood covering its head. The armor glowed and pulsed a faint purple visible even in the daylight, running across its body in lines. A large weapon of some kind hung off of its back.

What startled everyone present was the apparent eyes of this armored figure. Though they could not see a face underneath the hood, two golden orbs of light shone out like stars.

The player stood silent for a moment, before mustering up the clarity to reply.

He reached out to wave but then stopped and turned to look at his own hand. Rather than pale flesh, he saw black metal.

“Huh… OH!”

His brain finally began to piece together the present moment, or at least part of it. Ignoring the blonde man, he brought up both hands towards his face and noted the gauntlets on them. Lines scattered around the ridges and creases of the armored fist, glowing faintly purple.

These were absolutely his gloves from Yggdrasil! He turned his palms over to examine the backside of his hands.

Such detail!

Never before had the game had such graphical capability! He could make out what had to be thousands of hair-thin lines roaming all over his metal gloves, each one glowing faintly and emitted what appeared to be some kind of smoke or mist. He brought his hands closer to his face and looked ever more intently at them. Indeed, there was no way this was the original Yggdrasil. While ground-breaking, the DMMORPG had been limited by the technology of its time. This level of breath-taking minutia would have taxed the Yggdrasil servers to the limit if even 100 players were playing.

As Matthew marveled at his own hands, the now completely ignored party at the top of the crater was beginning to grow impatient.

“Well it doesn’t seem to want to talk. We can’t leave it unrestrained lest it attempt to flee. Ilta, bind it.” The blonde-haired man commanded.

The floating woman, in a witch hat practically as big as she was, raised her arms.

“Imprisonment” she intoned flatly. As she finished her incantation, the tip of her hat extended and raced down into the crater. As it reached the armored being in the center it began to wrap around him.

Broken from his thoughts, Matthew was startled by the tightening bindings. He wasn’t hoping to be tied like a hog today, so he began to press outward with his arms. He seemed to struggle for but a moment.

Up at the edge of the crater, beads of sweat began to form on the arms and forehead of the spellcaster as she held up her hands. Pulling backwards she attempted to hold herself in place.

Then she cried out as if some invisible wave had crashed into her, and fell forward with incredible force. Unfortunately for her, she had been near the edge of the crater and her fall caused her to careen over the edge and into the hole.

Surprised and startled, the pair next to her reached out but their hands caught empty air as she fell.

“Ilta!” The two men shouted.

At that moment a tall black-haired man ran up to the group followed by a number of others and looked down into the crater.

Within an instant the leader took stock of the situation. He realized how the figure at the bottom of the crater had pulled his strongest mage off her feet. The being’s armor had struck him as odd before, when he had examined it from afar, but now it was even more impressive. There was no way that glowing black and purple armor was from any region known to his country. He also got a very uneasy feeling from even looking at this figure and its burning eyes.

Seemingly ignoring the yelps of the spellcaster as she bounced her way down the crater, he turned to an elderly woman. He had to act fast or this could get out of hand.

“Kaire, please begin the Downfall of Castle and Country. This is too dangerous.”

In the process of unraveling the strange hat-thing from his body, the Nebulous came to an abrupt stop as a lance of pain shot through his head. “Gah! A migraine is not what I needed right now.” He grunted internally.

Then somehow, he just _knew_ the source of his discomfort. He glared up at the old woman in a white and golden dress.

“Hey! I know that item! That’s the mind control thingy! The uh, the Downfall! Downfall of-ERG” More pain lanced through his head. “-Castle and Country!” He gripped his head tightly within his hands, his hood crumpling in his grip. “Fu-Grk… Stop it!”

And then it was over. The ache subsided and he could breathe again. “You know,” he rubbed his head. “If they were players, they would have known that that item cannot control other players. And there’s no way I look like an NPC.”

As he looked back up at the group, a sense of indignation struck him. How dare these lower life forms attempt to control his mind! He was a guardian of the world! They had no right to attack him in such a way, and he would make them understand the consequences of making such a horrible mistake!

“…”

Huh… that was an odd train of thought. Cocking his head to one side, the man once again tuned out the world around him.

“I know I was into the role-play scene pretty heavily, but those thoughts… felt so visceral. Like… I actually believed that I was a ‘guardian of the world’. Like they were insects below me.” His internal monologue continued to swirl as the group above him threatened to break into chaos.

“Sho-taichō! It… it didn’t work!” The elderly woman, Kaire, gasped. Her eyes darted back and forth from her own hands to the being below. Around them the other members of their group shared gasps and sputterings of disbelief.

“What do you mean?” Sho stared with increasing intensity at the woman.

“I can’t feel any control over its mind!” She couldn’t believe what she was saying. Her qipao was the World Item known as the Downfall of Castle and Country! Its sleeves shook as she stared at her own trembling hands. This was a sacred item bestowed upon her by the Theocracy! Its power shouldn’t have limits but just now it had somehow fallen short. “I completed the spell but it-That thing fought me out! I… I don’t understand sir.” The woman fell to her knees, seemingly exhausted.

The burly red-haired man rushed over to her and helped steady her quivering form.

Down below, the ethereal being had decided to get a closer look at the other occupant of the crater. Just like in-game, he watched as his legs lifted off the ground and he began the glide over the terrain.

“This is fascinating!” He thought to himself. “I can feel my levitation, and command it!”

As he floated over towards the woman, he got a better look at her and her comically large hat.

She had thick sky-blue braids that appeared to be as long as she was tall. Her hat was a deep black with a ring of red and yellow fabric diamonds and a brown belt wrapping around it. Somehow, despite the fall the hat hadn’t actually fallen off her head, but he figured that was some sort of magic. Her clothes, if you could call them such, appeared to be closer to lingerie than a shirt, pants, or even mage robe. He knew Yggdrasil allowed for plenty of clothing customization for players and NPCs, but this was way too risqué.

Given how he could practically see her nipples through her top, there was no way this was considered anything but 18+.

“I’m beginning to suspect I’m not in Yggdrasil anymore…” The celestial pondered as he came upon the woman. She was groaning and attempting to sit up from where she had been laying, only to gaze directly up into his hood. What could only be described as a pair of burning suns surrounded by infinite darkness stared back at her.

“What are you…?” She couldn’t help but whisper.

Smiling internally Matthew decided he’d ham it up a little, just for fun.

“I am a guardian! A caretaker of all living beings and the great world tree! One of the… No. The _last_ Nebulous…” He paused for a moment, thinking of his friends. Where were they now? None of them had been online at the end, but he couldn’t rule out the possibility that they had arrived here as well. Somewhere in the back of his mind though, he felt incredibly alone.

The choir that accompanied his voice surprised him a little, and it seemed to send the woman below him into a stupor. It made him think a million voices were whispering along with him, and it could not sound more badass in his opinion.

Not wanting to lose her to unconsciousness he crouched down. “My name is Vörðr. What is your name?”

The Nebulous waited patiently as the woman gained her voice. “I-Ilta…” was all she managed to get out.

“Ilta. Why have you chosen to attack a Warden?” As he peered at her his eyes flared and writhed in barely concealed intensity. To her, those orbs seemed as though they were stripping her of her physical form, leaving her soul bare. Any words she had died in her throat and her mouth hung open.

“Hmm, I don’t think she can handle me in this form. Maybe my ‘Coalescence’ can actually serve more of a purpose than just role-play.” Vörðr hummed to himself.

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Up above them the group was beginning to panic.

“We cannot jus’ leave ‘er down th’r!” A huge man with a mane of grey hair rumbled. He readied his massive war-axe and looked ready to jump. Beside him some of the other members readied their weapons.

“Stand down!” Sho left no room for negotiation. “We will not jump into such a situation without more information. Clearly, we’ve already erred! It was able to shrug off the Downfall of Castle and Country.” He glanced to his right at the still kneeling woman. “I had thought such a thing was not possible.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I am beginning to understand though. This… thing is not of this world. As such, I will not allow us to risk ourselves recklessly anymore!”

“Oh please!” A woman to Sho’s left seemed to be giddy with excitement. “Let me fight him! He’s has to be strong! If he defeats me, I want to mate with him! I need to!” She was bubbling over with anticipation. A manic smile on her normally passive face.

“You will do no such thing. We will take formation Epsilon and approach. _Carefully_.”

Just as he was summing up the courage to begin their descent towards the unknown figure, a blinding light emanated from it.

Everyone was forced to shield their eyes from the extreme light. Once it had died down and they peered into the hole. The being had pulled back its hood to reveal a human head. Bright red hair adorned its-no _his­_ head, falling around his shoulders and ending just above his chest. A beard spilled out and appeared to be neatly cut and rounded. From where they stood, they couldn’t see much more, but it was now obvious that this figure appeared to be human.

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Ilta finished uncovering her eyes assuming that he was going to end her existence. However, she was greeted not by death or even the burning pair of stars, but by a human face! A grizzled red-headed man greeted her with what looked to her as a predatory grin. His golden eyes weren’t glowing like the twin suns from earlier, but they still felt like they were piercing into her.

The player was doing his best to hold back a huge goofy smile. His magic still seemed to work, which was a huge relief. Although he no longer needed to pull up a menu, he just… willed it to work. He decided to think more on that later.

But what really gave him such an elated state was he noticed he could feel the breeze! He hadn’t even noticed it before, given the whirlwind of events, but he hadn’t felt anything on his skin until now! It was like he hadn’t had any skin before, but that he just knew there was a breeze and that it was a pleasant temperature. But now, he could actually _feel_ it. It was like he had been floating in a void and now he was back on the planet, sensitive to everything around him.

And he felt… new emotions too!

Everything had been muted before, almost like he had no need for extraneous thoughts, but now everything came full force. And like a slap in the face, he felt a creeping heat begin to rise to his cheeks as his eyes roamed the body of the woman below him.

Now to be fair, Matthew was no stranger to women. He had dated through college and while he never considered himself overly suave or smooth, he was known to flirt from time to time. This however, was something he was not prepared for. Besides her, in his mind, hilarious looking hat, she was not wearing much of anything. And the fall she took down the crater wall definitely didn’t help the state of her… clothing.

Lingerie was something he expected to see after months of dating someone, not within the first moments of meeting them.

Attempting to get them both on track, Vörðr cleared his throat. “So, where were we? Ah yes, why did you and your group deign it necessary to attack me?” Gone was the chorus of whispers and the deep central tone. Now his voice sounded like a regular man. Perhaps a bit rough around the edges, but smooth enough to not imply he was some sort of illiterate barbarian.

Broken from her trance, Ilta brought her hands together in front of her as she sat up.

“Y-y-you f-fell from the sky.” She squeaked out with considerable effort. Ilta was surprised that she was still so shaken. But those burning eyes... Nothing in her life had prepared her for that.

“Still a little dazed it seems.” The man chuckled and grinned at her, doing his best to not look away from her face. An effort that seemed to only make the woman want to shrink further into her hat under his intense gaze. “Hmm, falling from the sky isn’t normal for most people I suppose. But I don’t really get why you, or your superiors, thought restraining me was necessary.”

It was just at that moment that the rest of the group had gotten close enough down the side of the crater to warrant the man’s attention. The black-haired warrior at the front was the first to speak.

“Who are you? And why have you come to our country?” His voice was reserved and somewhat feminine if you asked Vörðr. Observing this man up close he noted the paladin-like armor that encompassed the man’s form. An interesting mix of black, white, gold, orange, and teal was interwoven throughout his apparel. In his right hand a long black lance glinted in the sun.

The guardian crossed his arms over his chest in defiance. “I just woke up mere moments ago and I’ve had to fight off assaults of my body _and_ ,” he shot a glare to the old woman that was hiding behind the bulk of one of the men. “my mind. I’m not sure I’m feeling particularly willing to share anything with you lot.”

Rebuffed, the leader of the group quickly rethought his strategy. “Please forgive our rudeness, but you are trespassing in our land and the Theocracy does not take kindly to that. We are merely protecting our country and its citizens.” Surprising his subordinates, he bowed his head slightly. “My name is Sho Truthbrace and I am the Captain of this group. Now, I’m afraid I must impress upon you your current situation. You are in the presence of 13 hero-class and above individuals, known as the Black Scripture of the Thane Theocracy. I would prefer not to, but if we must we will take you down as a threat to our home.” Sho fell silent, allowing the red-haired man a chance to analyze his situation.

Vörðr looked around at the people that stood in front of him, gazing at each of their forms. They varied in size and apparent strength, but most returned his stare with a look of reserved determination. He had to give them props for standing strong so far, given how much of an unknown he was to them.

He did however note a woman off to his right that seemed to be attempting to eat him with her eyes.

That definitely caught his attention.

She had an odd appearance even compared to the rest of her group. The hair on left side of her head was black while on the right it was pure white. Her eye colors were the reverse of her hair and her clothing seemed to stick to the black and white theme. Overall, not a normal look by any stretch of the imagination, but she seemed to be able to pull it off he supposed.

As her eyes trailed up his form their gazes locked. Her form seemed to vibrate with anticipation, before a grin broke out on her face.

“Yes! He is the one!” Overcome with excitement, she broke from her group and jumped into the air towards the red-haired man. Swinging her double-bladed scythe above her head, she began to bring it down as if to cleave Vörðr in half.

“No! Zesshi stop!” Sho shouted after her, but she either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore his command.

As the woman fell towards him, the world seemed to slow down. “Hm, that scythe looks pretty nasty. Should I activate ‘Singularity’ now? Or perhaps a few defensive spells? Hmm… I have no good reference to the power levels of these people.” He mentally shook his head. “I want to see what kind of damage she can do first. I’ve got plenty of backup plans if they’re stronger than I think they are.” Reaching above his shoulder, he gripped his war hammer and, faster than his opponents could perceive, swung it out in front of himself to block to incoming blow.

A sharp screech reverberated off the walls as metal met metal.

Zesshi’s scythe ground against the hilt of his war hammer, sending sparks showering down to the ground. Despite the intensity, it was just now that everyone got a good look at Vörðr’s war hammer.

Made of a shining silver hilt and hammer head, a black infinity knot wove its way from the butt of the hilt all the way the base of the hammer. The members of the Black scripture noticed the center of the hammer head had a hole in it, and within that cutout a burning orb floated. It was difficult to look at with the naked eye given how bright it was, and must not have been burning until Vörðr brought it out, as now the crater seemed to shine and flicker in its brilliance.

It was then that all sense of decorum and peace was shattered. Not leaving their teammate alone in her fight, each of the Scripture members unleashed their weapons and charged.

The next few moments were a blur. Wielding his war hammer with impressive grace, Vörðr danced around his opponents. The spell casters of the group attempted to impede him or boost their allies, but nothing they did seemed to have much effect. The melee specialists of the group seemed to spend most of the time playing catch up as the man belted out punishment left and right.

For his part Matthew felt like he was being swarmed by angry hornets. Not particularly deadly to his armored form, but not very pleasant either. He dodged a chain-like weapon from one of the men and decided to end the encounter before it went anything further.

“This encounter has been most enlightening. While I don’t take aggression lightly, I will spare you today.” The Nebulous almost laughed as he spun the butt of his war hammer to bash the head of one of them. “You seem to not know of me or my kin, and you were mostly honorable in your intentions. This however will be the end of this fight.” The spike of his war hammer impacted the ground and shook the vicinity, causing a few of his opponents to fight for balance. Utilizing the brief reprieve, he cast one of his favorite abilities.

“Singularity.”

After a moment, a small black orb materialized into the air above him. At first, this orb didn’t look like much, but quickly it began to grow and warp the space around it. One of the casters attempted to shoot an ice bolt at the red-haired man, but the bolt curve up and away from him. The freezing spell raced around the black hole moving faster and faster as it approached the orb before disappearing into it. Still the sphere continued to grow, approaching 1 meter in diameter. Soon the Black Scripture members began to sense a force pulling them into the air.

Sure enough, within seconds some of those closest to the orb got lifted off their feet.

Multiple shouts of confusion rang out and each person tried desperately to stay on the ground. Within moments all of the members that had no magical ability were floating in the air and began to orbit the black sphere. A few of the magic casters were able to hold themselves down, but their concentrated casting was broken as the orb appeared to release a wave of energy. Their incantations broken, one-by-one the spell casters were lifted as well. Ilta hadn’t moved from the spot that she had arrived at originally, curiously enough.

There was no formal party and raid groupings that he could tell, so he wondered how his spell was able to tell friend from foe. Perhaps it was simply because he didn’t consider her an enemy in this exchange? Oh well, something to think on later.

Shouts continued to fill the air as the scripture members began to rotate faster and faster around the sphere, often colliding into each other.

Within moments, the cries of the warriors began to die down as they fell unconscious, either from the increasing centripetal acceleration pulling the blood from their brains or just by getting knocked out running into each other as they orbited.

Finally, Vörðr released the spell and the sphere shrank down into non-existence, unceremoniously dropping everyone to the ground. He then positioned his hammer into place on his back and felt its burning star extinguish. Taking in a deep breathe, he looked around.

“Damn. That was a lot more powerful than what I could do in Yggdrasil! I hope I didn’t kill them all.” The warden thought to himself. He bent down to check the pulse of the black-and-white-haired woman and found a steady beat within her veins. Looking at her form he saw her hair had ended up sprawled out around her and noted her pointed ears. “Ah, an elf, how interesting.”

Feeling a set of eyes boring into him, he looked up to see Ilta staring wide-eyed at him. Noting her risqué garb no longer seemed to affect him, a thought in the back of his mind told him his form had reverted.

“Hm, you don’t seem to be much of a threat at the moment,” his chorus sung sympathetically. “What will you do?”

“Such overwhelming power.” The woman looked down at her hands. “We were the strongest, but… how can the world be protected from a force like you?” She shifted her hat to block his eyes from hers.

A deep melody of laughter emanated from the being. “The world does not need to be protected from me. Like I told you, I am its guardian. I protect all lives from those that wish to harm them. There are great evils that threaten the very fabric of the universe, and to waste time fighting one another is an atrocity that must not stand. Life is precious.” He clenched is gauntleted fists. “I will cleanse this land of its petty bickering so that it may unite against the void that will swallow it whole.” He glided over to Ilta and crouched down to meet her gaze once more.

She looked up into his eyes with fear and trepidation but didn’t move as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Now sleep.”

Utilizing a forced sleep spell, he noticed she didn’t seem to resist and her eyes began to flutter closed. After gently guiding her body to the ground he stood back up.

“I still have so much to learn about where ever… this is. I’d rather not have your little team hounding me just yet.” Vörðr smiled at her unconscious form and then straightened up. Leaving the Black Scripture where they lay, the ethereal man floated up the side of the crater.

Giving one last look, he turned and headed off into the forest that surrounded him. “Yes, I will root out the insolent and petulant violence that no doubt grips this world. That is my purpose.” He continued to drift forward into the lush greenery.

Matthew’s new convictions gripped him like a vice. He wasn't sure why, but he felt bound to that ambition with all of his being. However, he did feel a pang of loneliness amidst that resolve.

“And maybe I’ll find one of my old friends. That would be nice.”


	2. Planting the Seeds of Change

**Chapter 2: Planting the Seeds of Change**

**AN: Thank you for the lovely reviews :)**

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A group of six sat around an ornate table of marble and inlaid gold. Colored light played off the walls, streaming in from the stained-glass windows beside them. Each person wore a blue and gold cardinal hat and robes. They shuffled scrolls and papers around, carefully reading the various material in front of them.

“The Black Scripture has yet to report in.” A plump woman spoke up.

Across the table from her, a narrow-eyed man waved his hand dismissively. “Yes, but we are not doting mothers. I am more than confident in their abilities.” He raised the scroll he’d been reading back to his face. “They will report in soon enough.”

“Yvon-san might be right,” a middle-aged man replied. “But this is still unprecedented. The 7th seat has never missed a report and I’m surprised she’s started now.” He grabbed a scroll to his right and unfurled it. “We will discuss their activities and tardiness when they return from their mission. For now, we have other matters to discuss. Before she left, the 7th seat completed her write up on the effort to assassinate Gazef Stronoff.” His eyes scanned the page rapidly. “It appears as though another force entered the battlefield and assisted Gazef. According to her report, her observation spell was broken before the battle had concluded.”

A shriveled old man coughed into his fist in attempt to clear his throat. “Given what she saw, did she indicate the strength of this new opponent?”

“The new opponent was actually two people: a spellcaster and an armored bodyguard. The pair defeated a number of Archangel Flames as well as Nigun’s Principality Observation. Her report states that her observation spell was shattered shortly after Nigun summoned Dominion Authority.” The scroll was rolled back up and handed over to the Cardinal to his right.

“This is not a good sign.” Another man mulled as he read through the scroll. “If what she states here is true, this single caster is incredibly powerful. In a worst case, he might even be on the level of Fluder of the Baharuth Empire.” He passed the scroll on once he was done reading.

“This caster will need to be watched closely.” They all nodded their heads in agreement.

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Vörðr floated through the forest lost in thought.

“Ok so clearly I’m not in the old Yggdrasil anymore, that much is obvious. What’s really confusing is the total lack of menus. I can’t even force a logout or manual shutdown of my neural headset.” He grimaced, “which is a terrifying thought.”

He drifted by some local wildlife that stared at him before darting away.

“But I’m still in the form of my avatar. And I can feel all of my abilities and inventory from the game as well. So, either I’m in a new game, one that I cannot log out of.” He shuddered. “In which case my human body will begin to die of thirst within days. Or… I’m in an entirely new universe.” He silently accessed his fly spell and began to ascend through the tree canopy. “As nuts as this sounds, I think it’s more likely the latter. There was no indication from the developers that there would be a Yggdrasil 2, and the level of detail I’ve seen on everything is far and above what my basic neural headset could ever handle.”

He sighed for what felt like the millionth time. “I suppose I just have to keep moving forward assuming this is either the most complex coma dream I’ve ever heard of or… this is all real.” He broke through the tops of the trees and beheld the land before him.

It looked like it was after mid-day. He could see rolling hills and forest for miles around, with the occasional lake or river. Off in the distance he could see a mountain range extending beyond the horizon. He rotated around and to his relief he saw a large town a number of miles away.

As he floated back down, he mentally called up his inventory. “As much fun as it would be to fly the whole way, I want to try this out.” He reached in and took out a small rose-colored whistle. If it worked like in game, this should summon one of his legendary mounts.

He inhaled, stuck the whistle into his… mouth.

Did he have a mouth as a Nebulous…?

Not important right now.

Then he blew hard. A shrill screech rebounded off the trees for a moment, then died down. He waited for a moment more but nothing seemed to happen. Disappointed, he began to put the whistle back into his inventory but as he did the ground started to rumble beneath his feet. He listened as something barreled its way through the forest towards him.

Bursting forth from behind a set of trees a giant wolf entered the clearing. Its grey and cobalt coat stood in stark contrast to the greens and browns of the forest. Standing at about 5 meters tall and 9 meters long excluding its tail, Vörðr marveled at the beast before him. This wolf was a number of times larger than it had been in-game. A pair of deep blue eyes spotted him within moments and then the wolf came bounding over to tower above him.

Bending its head down, it inhaled deeply through its nose. A heavy breath followed shortly after and the breeze ruffled the ethereal man’s hood.

“Hello Fenrir,” he reached up and began to scratch just under its chin. The creature closed its eyes and a gentle rumble emanated from it. “How is my favorite wolfy doing?”

It barked in approval. Though given how huge the beast was, a roar would probably be a better way to describe what just came out of its mouth. It then padded around and laid down next to him, staring at him with one eye.

This was definitely more in-depth than what had happened in the game. This wolf clearly had a mind and life of its own, and he could see a mixture of emotions contained within that eye. This further solidified his assumption about this new world he had been thrust into.

Clearly unhappy with the silence it whined pitifully.

The Nebulous smiled in return and scratched it just behind its gigantic ear. “I’m sorry I hadn’t called you yet buddy. I’ve been a little busy.” The ground shook slightly as the giant wolf’s scratch reflex started and its leg bounced up and down off the forest floor. “Hey Fen how about you and I go find a town? Does that sound like fun?”

Fenrir barked again in approval and stood up. It waited patiently as its master reached into his inventory and pulled out a set of wolf armor and a saddle. The armor was a brushed silver with black infinity knots painted on, similar to his weapon. Deadly looking spikes jutted out from various locations on the helmet, shin and shoulder guards.

Curiously, it was way too small for Fenrir when Vörðr took it out of his inventory but, as he tossed it at his mount the whole set disappeared into small glowing particles. Moments later it reformed around his wolf. The beast shook itself vigorously once the bindings were secured and looked at him expectantly.

“Well that’s convenient” He thought as he floated up and onto the saddle.

“Ok buddy, let’s go find some people!” He held on tightly as his mount took off at breakneck speed.

The world passed by him in a blur and a melodious laughter echoed through the forest.

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Zesshi groaned and raised a hand to her head. A throbbing ache greeted her as she came back to the world of the living.

Now this was a completely new feeling. Her, a God-kin, one of the strongest in the known world was aching all over her body. It felt like she had been thrown down the side of a mountain and hit every rock along the way. Carefully she sat up and looked around. It all came flooding back to her then. The strange figure at the center of the crater, the fight, being whipped around a giant floating orb. She couldn’t believe what had happened.

Her ancestry traced back to the original Six Great Gods and that had given her great power and the title God-kin. But if she was a God-kin, then the ease with which that beast of a man had dispatched them made him a literal God. Oh, the power that radiated off of him was intoxicating!

The woman rose unsteadily to her feet, stopping as the blood rushed back to her head and made her vision fade to black for a moment.

“Urgh.” She gripped her head lightly with one hand and brought the other to her knees to maintain her balance. These aches and pains were very new to her, but she loved the thought of the one that gave them to her. He was so tall; his red hair was like fire enveloping his head. His grace in combat and pure might was simply astonishing. She wanted to smile but that caused her headache to worsen, so she settled for a slight grimace. Finally standing upright she looked around at her companions.

Most were still out cold, although it looked like the captain was beginning to stir if the slow movements of his arms were any indication. She frowned to herself.

“I don’t want to stick around with this lot, but I suppose I will for now. They better not stop me from finding him again.” Taking a deep cleansing breath, she readied herself and began to walk over to the now awake captain. “Sho-taichō.” She greeted flatly.

“Zesshi.” He responded and immediately gripped his head in pain. Teeth bared he began to sit up, “What is the status of everyone else.” His head drooped down towards his lap and he rubbed his aching neck.

“Still out. It doesn’t stink of death yet, so I don’t think anyone died. Although Kaire might have gotten close, never can tell when she’ll just keel over.” She responded flippantly. “We can’t have been out long though, as the sun is still in the sky.” She watched passively as the man slowly got up.

Sho Truthbrace looked around at the crater and sighed in resignation. He didn’t think there could be a worse situation. A man, or something more than a man, had seemingly fallen from the sky and landed in their country. After rebuffing the power of their World Item, he had beat them all senseless and was now roaming around who knew where.

They had to get back to the capital and inform the cardinals as soon as possible.

“Please help me get the others up, we need to be on the move as soon as possible. We can’t spare any time.” He commanded. She looked back at him with a slight frown, clearly not altogether interested in what he had to say. He slowly shook his head and smiled lightly; she was such a handful.

Hoping that she would follow his orders, he walked over to the nearest member and began a light healing spell. With any luck he could reduce their aches before getting them up. He needed everyone capable of top speed travel back to the capital, they had no time for stragglers.

He couldn’t just completely lose track of the man though.

Looking over he saw his master assassin, Hatok-Das, finally getting up, so he called over, “Hatok-Das-san, I need you to begin tracking our opponent. The rest of us will report to the capital immediately. I don’t think I need to tell you this, but under no circumstances are you to engage him.” The assassin nodded his head once and began working his way out of the crater.

“Hey, I’m not letting someone else find my prize before me.” Zesshi huffed in annoyance. “I’m going too.”

“No Zesshi wait!” Surprisingly she stopped and only sent a glare his way. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Ok fine, but the same orders go to you. Do not engage. Period.” He attempted to make his voice as stern as possible, but doubted she cared. She really was hard to handle even on the best of days.

The woman simply shrugged and began vaulting up the side of the crater.

This wasn’t going to be the worst of it, he could feel it in his bones.

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Each bounding stride of the wolf brought them like a bullet train through the forest. Relying on his mount to carry him in the right direction, Vörðr had let his mind wander some more.

His first goal was to find out where he was and the surrounding area. He had heard the captain, Sho was his name if he remembered correctly, state that he was in the territory of the Slane Theocracy. He frowned at the thought. He had never liked the idea of theocracies back in his old world. Always forcing their religions on other people. Though now that he thought about it, this world was obviously different. Magic was clearly real so perhaps religion had more merit here.

His mind strayed back to the group that he had fought with. What Ilta had uttered at the end had struck a chord with him.

She had said, “We were the strongest.”

That was certainly something for him to think about. Clearly, they were some sort of task force sent out by their government to deal with strong foes or unknown entities. Given their strange apparel and varied looks, there was no way this was a standard regiment of run-of-the-mill soldiers. If what she said was true, then he was head and shoulders above every single person in this country, perhaps even the world.

His ego might have swelled slightly at the thought. Strongest Being in the World. Might go nicely with his World Champion title.

Back to the present, he thought more about what he needed to do.

After he mapped out where he was, he would work on determining if any other players had made it to this world. Although, now that he thought about it, if the people back there had considered themselves the strongest, and they paled in comparison to himself, it might be unlikely other players had made it. Regardless though he would remain vigilant. It would likely be an ongoing effort for him.

Finally, once he had established his surroundings, he would work on a plan to unite the world.

Now _that_ was quite the task that he had set for himself. He had no doubts about his convictions though, it was like the backstory of his race and his own role-play had solidified themselves in his psyche. He had to do it, no question about it. The question though was _how_ exactly would he do it. There was no reason to believe that the leaders and countries of this world would simply bend their knee to him. No matter the universe, those in charge always thought highly of themselves.

He rolled his eyes internally at that thought. Yeah, that was undoubtedly a universal constant.

Fenrir emitted a low noise, signifying that he had found something. Looking up Vörðr spotted a break in the trees. Past that break was a large open field that ended with a large stone wall.

“Looks like the town I saw earlier. You found it boy! Good boy!” He scratched the wolf behind the ear some more and it rumbled happily in reply. “Ok slow down Fen, we need to find the main gates.” His mount nodded in reply and turned to run parallel to the town walls. Soon enough he spotted it, a giant archway through which a large cobblestone road passed.

“I doubt the local inhabitants are going to be pleased with a monstrous wolf wandering through their town.” He mulled it over in his mind. “Woah boy.” Dutifully the wolf stopped, panting happily.

Thinking about his mount, he recalled in the DMMORPG the mounts would simply disappear in a puff of smoke once someone dismounted. Would it work the same here? He supposed there was one way to find out. Swinging his leg over he fell to the ground softly and turned around. Fenrir turned to face him and gaze at him with curious blue eyes.

Staring at each other for a moment, nothing happened.

The ethereal man scratched at his chin. Then he tried _willing_ the creature away, like he commanded his spells. He even added some over-the-top hand gestures.

Still nothing.

The wolf cocked its head and continued panting.

The man patted the wolf on the leg. “Well then, I guess you’re here to stay. Uh, down. Stay.” He commanded. Fenrir huffed and laid down, crossing its front legs and laying its giant head down on top of them. “Good boy.” He patted its nose and received a giant tongue to his chest in return.

He looked down at the globs of slobber that remained on his armor. “Ok, well that’s just a little gross.” Reaching into his inventory, he pulled out a Pitcher of Endless Water and a simple rag. Just as he was about to start wiping himself down, he had an idea.

“I sure hope this works.”

Willing his armor away he watched as it disappeared into small particles of light, leaving him in just his under armor and clothing. Reaching back into his inventory, he found his armor and pulled it back out.

And just as he had been hoping, the armor he pulled out was pristine, like it had never been touched. No need to polish his armor, what a relief. That would have been a tedious waste of time.

Once his armor had returned to his form, he activated his Coalescence and the forest lit up for a moment. In game he had been limited by how often he could use his human form, but fortunately it didn’t appear to be the case here. Waiting a whole day before he could go check out the town would have been a pain, and there was no way he wanted to go into town in his true form just yet. Screaming townsfolks and startled guards would have been a little funny, but a huge headache.

He also considered his armor and weapon. They were some of his prized possessions and quite frankly he just loved the look of them. He considered replacing them for some of his lower-level gear to blend in better, but then thought better of it. He had just beaten-up people that called themselves “the strongest”, so he doubted he had much to fear from the local government. And he didn’t think they had gotten the word out of his existence yet.

He was damn proud of his gear, there was no way he was going to go around and grovel like a commoner hoping for some scraps. He was a guardian! They were honored to be graced with his presence!

Shaking his head, he mumbled to himself. “There were those thoughts again.”

Matthew wasn’t sure what to make of them. They were his and yet they felt out of character for the normally laid-back guy. He always liked his role-playing, but it was still so much more visceral than even his acting in Yggdrasil. He shook his head as he walked forward onto the road and turned towards the city. More to think on later.

He unclipped his hood and replaced it with the helmet from his armor set. He would hide his face from the general populace for now.

There was a steady, if sparse, stream of people coming and going from the city. As they passed, most seemed to stare in shock or awe at him. He simply ignored them in return.

He wasn’t sure if he had to stop by the guards, but he figured he could put the old adage “Act like you belong and no one will stop you” into action. Sure enough, he barely spared the guards a glance as he marched through and besides some wide eyes, they didn’t do anything about it. Striding forward into the city he discovered a bustling medieval fantasy city full of shops, homes, and bars. Grey cobbled streets weaved their way around wooden and stone buildings. The occasional church broke the standard architecture, and each was composed of impressive marble and glass.

He still needed to find a map or some way to learn about the local area. If the player was honest with himself, he wasn’t quite sure where to go to for something like that, it wasn’t like they had a visitors’ center kiosk. He figured he could just wander for a while.

As he made his way through the city, he observed the populace. Everyone was lightly tanned, indicating the type of climate that he was in. There was the occasional darker or lighter person, but most shared very similar complexion. Most were just going about their business with a sense of calm and ease. He didn’t see any major fights or shouting matches, just the regular hustle and bustle of a peaceful city.

Eventually he came upon what looked to him as a middle-class inn. Surely these people would have something that could help him, since they had to deal with travelers and the like on a regular basis. As he opened the door, he was greeted by a pale woman with long brunette hair and green eyes. She wore a plain brown dress and a simple set of sandals. Her face was cute but she looked overly thin in his opinion.

He took off his helmet and shook out his hair as she bowed deeply.

“Hello Visitor-sama, welcome to the Yellow Rabbit. Are you here looking for a room, a meal, or simply a drink?”

Her tone was courteous enough, but her bow showed an extreme amount of deference. Was that a standard thing here or was this unique, he wondered. As she stood back up from her bow, he noted ear tips that were definitely chopped off. If he had to guess he would say she was an elf, but why would her ears have been cut short?

“Actually, I’m looking for information please.” He bowed in return and heard a tiny gasp. He looked back up at her and noticed how surprised she seemed to be. Was bowing in return not normal here? “Also, not to be nosy, but I’m curious. Are you an elf?” At that she looked down at her feet and wrapped her arms close to herself.

“Yes Visitor-sama.” She whispered barely audible.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to offend.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I was simply curious as to why your ears have been… cropped. Is it a fashion thing around here?” This time she looked up a frowned slightly at him.

She started wringing her hands in a show of discomfort, “My ears are to show that I am owned by my master.”

Now it was his turn to be surprised. “That’s barbaric.” He frowned and was going to press further before a plump man approached them.

“I apologize Visitor-san. Has she been rude to you?” He slapped the elf with a rolled-up piece of parchment. She recoiled and returned to staring at the floor. “What can we here at the Yellow Rabbit Inn do for you?”

Vörðr paused briefly. This new information, and that interaction, didn’t sit well with him. But it would have to wait for now, he had more pressing matters. “No not at all! She was most helpful.” He smiled congenially at the woman and caught her eye for the barest of moments. “I was actually looking for some information and was wondering if perhaps you could help me. You see, I’m rather new to the area and I was hoping you had a map that I could look at.”

“Ah yes! I think I have just the thing, if you could follow me.” The man turned away and began a leisurely pace towards another room. He turned slightly as he walked. “So where are you from mister…?”

Vörðr thought briefly. His character never had been given a last name, and his last name from his previous world would sound pretty odd. So, he made up one on the spot. “Stendahl. Vörðr Stendahl. Let’s just say I’m from really far away and leave it at that. And what may I call you?”

The man smiled, showing less than perfect teeth. “You may call me Randolph, Stendahl-san. I am the owner of this fine establishment.” He puffed out his chest slightly and straightened his tunic. “Now, if you’d give me a moment, I’ll go grab a map.” He stepped through a simple wooden doorway and disappeared for a moment. This gave Vörðr a moment to look around some.

The inside of the inn was rather nice but not exactly high class. A few paintings hung on the walls, and the floor had some rugs spread out to add splashes of color. Brown wood made up most of the interior, creating a cozy feeling. He looked back down the hall and noticed the elf woman seemed to be sneaking glances at him while she swept around the entrance. He smiled and sent a small wave her way, and got a kick out of how her head ducked away and the speed of her sweeping seemed to increase.

After a few more moments the man returned with a large rolled up piece of parchment.

“Here it is!” The man smiled at his small victory. “Sorry it took so long, I had to dig past a few boxes to get this. Now if you’d follow me again, we can roll this out on one of our dining room tables.”

As they walked back down the hall and into a dining area, Randolph directed him to a side room that held a private seating area. After the paladin had entered, the inn-keeper closed the door behind them.

“A little privacy never hurts. Now then,” he began unfurling the large map. Pinning down the edges with some candles, “What would you like to know?”

“Ah, how about everything? I’m very new here.”

“New indeed.” The inn-keeper gave him a raised eyebrow and then pointed to a small drawing of a city. “This is our lovely little city Ylinford, located within the illustrious Slane Theocracy. Our capital is located to the south-west, here.” He pointed at a larger looking city. “Kami Miyako. To the north-west is the Re-Estize Kingdom. To the north-east is the Baharuth Empire. To our south is the Elf Country with its bastard of a king.” He shook his head, “we’ve been at war with them for about 20 years now.” He turned to look at Vörðr. “Any of this looking familiar to you yet?”

The red-haired man shook his head, “No not really. Please keep going, this is extremely helpful.”

“Very well.” He pointed a pudgy finger to the far eastern corner of the map. “That is the Dragon Kingdom, and to our direct west is the Demi-human enclave.” He made a sour face briefly, then he pointed further west. “And that is the Roble Holy Kingdom. There are plenty of smaller features and peoples here and there, but that is the major countries that I have on this map. Hopefully this has been enlightening for you Stendahl-san.”

Smiling in appreciation, the taller man nodded his head. “Yes, you have been most helpful. Actually, I was wondering how much you would be willing to sell your map for? I would like to hold on to it for future reference.”

Randolph pondered for a moment. “Well, you seem like a fine gentleman. I would be willing to part with this for 10 gold, since it’s my only map at the moment.”

Reaching behind his back to conceal the void that opened up, Vörðr pulled out a sack of gold Yggdrasil coins. He had plenty of time to collect and hoard money during the final days, so this was a paltry sum for him. He loosened the drawstring and turned the bag over in his palm. 10 golden coins clanked out onto his gauntlet. “I don’t have any money from your nation, so would this cover it?”

The inn-keeper’s eyes widened significantly. “Uh yes… let me go get my scale and we’ll compare.” He opened the door and disappeared around a corner, only to come back moments later with a simple metal scale. “Always good to keep this handy. Now then please place one of your coins onto this side.” Vörðr complied and watched as the inn-keeper placed a smaller golden coin on the other side, then added 3 more, one by one. He bobbed his head appreciatively. “And these are pure gold you say? Remarkable.”

Vörðr smiled. “Well since I don’t have the currency of the land, I’m more than happy to give you 10 coins anyways.”

The inn-keeper shook his head. “I appreciate it sir, but I’m no thief. I make plenty of money here at my inn. Given how much gold your coins weigh I’d be willing to settle for 5 of your coins for my map.”

As they shook hands, Vörðr was surprised at how firm the grip of the rotund man was, and he shook back firmly. They completed the exchange and made their way out of the room back towards the entrance.

“Are you staying in the city long? Perhaps I can interest you in a room perhaps?” Randolph led them to what appeared to be a front desk sort of arrangement.

“Yes, that sounds excellent, how much will it be per night?”

“I’d say one of your coins per night, does that sound fair?” Vörðr nodded at him as he reached for a metal key. The paladin handed off 5 more coins, figuring he could pay for the first 5 nights ahead of time. “Very good Stendahl-san. Your room is on the third floor the second door on the left at the top of the stairs. Keishara!” He barked and the elven woman he had met at the door came rushing over. “Please make sure Stendahl-san is well taken care of, you hear?”

The woman bowed deeply. “Of course, Stin-sama. Stendahl-sama, do you have any baggage that I can carry up to your room for you?” She turned towards him but kept her eyes down.

He returned her bow, a little less deeply. “No, thank you though Keishara-san.” As he was returning from his bow, he didn’t notice the widened eyes of the inn-keeper and the blush on the slave. “Everything I need is on my person right now. I would however appreciate it if you could show me the way to my room.”

“Of course, Stendahl-sama.” She turned and walked towards a staircase. He nodded to the inn-keeper before catching up to her.

Keeping his voice low, he had to press on with his earlier conversation with her. “Keishara, do you consider yourself happy and healthy here?” His words made her jump, and she unconsciously reached for her ears.

“I am treated as Stin-sama wants to treat me.” She replied softly.

“That didn’t answer my question,” he countered. As they finished climbing the steps, he handed her his key and she opened the door for him. He stepped through the archway and turned back to her. “Please come in for a moment.”

She hesitated, unsure of his intentions. She looked down the stairway and saw the regular dinnertime crowd milling about. Looking back, she peered into his golden eyes. He seemed nice enough, she thought to herself, so why not hear what he had to say. She walked forward into the room and he gently closed the door behind her. Her eyes caught something odd, as his hand left the door, a glowing sealing matrix formed and spread throughout the room, scrawling its way across all of the walls, the floor, and ceiling.

“Just a simple privacy spell. I have some very important questions to ask you and I’d rather no one hear us.” He smiled at her, attempting to dispel any fear.

She hovered a couple of feet away from him as he observed his room. A simple desk and single chair sat on one end, and a thin mattress sat on a bed frame at the other. At the far end of the room a window gave a clear view of the city street and its evening activity. The sun was just beginning to touch the mountain to the west.

In a few strides he walked over to the chair and picked it up in one hand. He proceeded to carry it across the room and place it next to the bed. Removing his war hammer, he leaned it against the wall and then sat down on the chair. Patting the bed with his left hand he motioned for her to sit down.

“Please sit for a moment.” He requested, trying to seem as unintimidating as he could.

Keishara had no clue what to make of the man, but she didn’t want to upset one of her master’s paying customers, so she carefully made her way over and sat down on the bed a few feet away from Vörðr. He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, clasping his hands in front of himself.

“You didn’t answer my question Keishara-san. Are you happy and healthy?” He pressed further. Noticing her gaze went right back to her lap he sighed in frustration. Clearly, she wasn’t leaping at the chance to speak for herself. “Listen, I’m not going to hurt you, and what you tell me will be completely confidential. Your answer is _very_ important though.”

A few moments passed in silence as Keishara wondered what was going on. Why did this random man care about how she was feeling or how she was doing? What difference did it make to him? And why did he seem so intent on getting an answer out of her. She looked back up into his eyes and saw his furrowed brows. Not in anger, she noted, but seemingly out of concern.

Eventually she found her voice, “I’ve been a slave ever since I was a small girl. The war between my people and the humans has been long and bloody, and both sides have taken many slaves and prisoners. Stin-sama is never cruel to me, and I am allowed to eat two meals a day to keep my strength up. I’ve seen some others that were treated much worse than I, beaten almost daily or left to starve if they made any mistakes. But…” she trailed off.

“But?” Vörðr raised an eyebrow. He knew where she was going, but wanted her to speak for herself.

“But I’m still a slave Stendahl-sama!” The words came spilling out now. “I have no free will of my own, and forced to live in a place among those that hate me and my people.” She finally looked up at him with tears threatening to burst forth. “I miss my family, my older brother, my parents!” She breathed deep ragged breaths and she curled into herself, covering her face with her hands as a few tears escaped.

As she sniffled, he reached into his inventory and pulled out a white and gold embroidered handkerchief. It was beautifully made in his opinion, and was just another piece he had kept for his role-play efforts. Now that he thought about it, he was sure a number of the items that he had hoarded would come in handy now that he could actually put them to use.

Reaching over, he took one of the hands off of her face and placed the handkerchief into it. Knowing she would probably resist; he simply closed her hand around the cloth and pushed it back towards her.

As she dried her tears and wiped her nose, the Nebulous considered her situation.

Slaves.

The word left a bad taste in his mouth. In his original world he hated slavery, even the corporate slavery that was so commonplace. Here he had even more reason to hate it. Not just wage slaves but actual, chop-your-hand-off-if-you-disobey, slaves.

No intelligent being should be slave to another. A slave soldier would never fight as hard as one that had clear purpose and the free will to pursue it. When he had told Ilta that all life was precious, he had meant it.

One’s happiness was typically not worth the misery of another. Although those with hate in their minds and death on their tongues would be sacrificed for the greater good. He would save as many as he could though and not just kill for simplicity or the ease of it.

He would give the world a savior to rally around and a reason to unify.

He gave a stern face as he spoke up, “Slavery is an evil. None of the intelligent life on this planet is above another.” He decided to take a risk as a plan began to form in his mind. “What would you say if I told you I could free you? What would you do?”

The elf was dabbing her eyes and put down the handkerchief to stare at the man. Her mouth opened and closed before she finally spoke, “I would be eternally grateful. I didn’t say this before, but my parents died in the war and I have no idea where my brother is. I’m guessing he’s somewhere working as a slave or dead. I… I wouldn’t have anywhere to go though. We’re too far from Elf Country, and I wouldn’t make it far before being captured.” She put her hands in her lap and looked back down.

“And what if I said I’d protect you?”

She smiled weakly. “I’d want to believe it, but you would be a wanted man for freeing a slave. The whole theocracy would be after you.” She looked to her right out the window and smiled at the distant mountains. “But I would follow you anywhere if you could. You’d be my hero.”

Vörðr put a fist under his chin in contemplation. “Are there more like you? How many slaves are in the theocracy? In this city?”

The woman turned to frown at him. “There has to be tens thousands of us. This war has been going on for so long, and I’ve heard the Elf Country is losing slowly so the humans have been capturing more of my people.”

Tens of thousands, that’s a small army. If he had to guess though, half of those wouldn’t be fit for combat or anything strenuous. But every creature would be valuable to him and worth the effort to save. The gears in his mind continued to turn, this might be the first step that he needed. If he could get these slaves to follow his banner, and somehow convince the people of the theocracy of the errors of their ways…

Releasing the slaves would be the easy part. He highly doubted even an army could stop him, given how weak the peoples of this planet seem to be. It would be like crushing a mound of ants; perhaps unpleasant, but if necessary easy. Convincing an entire people that their religion is wrong, however, would be a whole different story. Something to think on later. For now, he would start with this frail elf woman, and grow his cause from there.

“Do you believe in gods?”

The question caught Keishara off guard. “I suppose I do. We worshiped gods of the forest back in Elf Country, and I know that there are those in the theocracy that have been given gifts from their Six Great Gods. I’m not sure I understand the relevancy of the question Stendahl-sama.” She sounded weary but he detected a slight hint of curiosity in her tone. The paladin simply smiled back at her.

“You said I’d have an entire country after me if I freed you. Do you believe a god could fight a country?” His grin widened. Her ever growing confusion was fun to watch, as if he had some great joke or prank that he was just waiting for her to step into.

If he was being honest with himself though, he was just thinking back to how utterly entranced Ilta had been. Being treated like an all-powerful deity was quite the feeling but in the back of his mind he knew he shouldn’t enjoy it as much as he did.

“I… I suppose a god could? I don’t know much of the gods though Stendahl-sama.” She was beginning to feel scared. Why was this man asking her such bizarre questions? And why was he smiling like he had some devilish thoughts?

“Keishara-san, I would like you to close your eyes for a moment. I’ll let you know when you can open them. I won’t move or touch you, but you just have to trust me. I want to show you something.”

She had no clue what was going on at this point, but figured if she started to hear the rustling of armor and the unhooking of straps, she would make a bolt for it. She had no intention of being molested today. After a moment she did as she was told and closed her eyes.

“Now no peeking, I’ll let you open them in a moment.” Vörðr had to stop his smile from getting any bigger or he would have looked like a complete madman. After he was sure her eyes were squeezed shut, he canceled his Coalescence and felt the world come into sharp detail. He hadn’t noticed it before but even though he couldn’t _feel_ much in his true form, everything appeared in sharper focus. He could make out what the people on the street were saying, could see almost every detail in the room and on the woman sitting in front of him. He could even hear the heartbeat of the elf, and noticed that her breathing hitched slightly and her heartrate had begun to increase.

Interesting, even without looking at him directly, those of this world could feel his presence and reacted to it.

Taking it a step further, he removed one of his gauntlets and was greeted by a universe in the shape of a hand. It was as if his hand was a 3-dimensional portal to another dimension, and looking through it you could see an endless cosmic space. He rotated his hand and the stars and galaxies shifted and changed ever so slightly. To him they looked so tiny and yet so massive at the same time.

He was lucky he wasn’t truly human anymore or he absolutely would have gotten lost looking into that infinity. This was so much more complex than what his avatar had looked like in Yggdrasil.

Trippy.

“You may open your eyes now.” A deep chorus of voices whispered along with his, mirth in its melody.

Keishara had felt a rush for some reason. It was as if she had been standing on the edge of the world and had dared to look down into an infinite abyss.

As she opened her emerald eyes the abyss stared back. Her breathing almost stopped entirely and her mouth opened in a silent gasp. Gone was the red-haired man and in his place was... _Something_. Its head was a black void with no discernable features besides a pair of burning orbs. They flared as they hovered in place.

Then she looked down at the hand that had been extended towards her and felt her eyes dilate. It was as he had swiped the night sky from its place above and put it inside of him. A seemingly infinite number of stars and other objects that she didn’t even understand floated around in the shape of a hand. Her brain lurched forward enough to utter one word.

“Kami.”

The chorus seemed to laugh, an odd sound. “Perhaps. I am what was once known as a Nebulous.”

To be honest he wasn’t sure what he should consider himself. In this world he certainly seemed like a god, but _he_ wasn’t the one that had plucked himself out of Yggdrasil and onto this planet. Perhaps the old Norse gods had been real and they were the ones to send him here. Regardless, to the people here he would be a god he supposed.

The ethereal man was taking a huge leap of faith here. He hoped to use her as a starting point to begin first the revolution of the elven slaves, then the subjugation of the Slane Theocracy. She could be a spark that began a roaring fire of change for this world. From there he would work his way throughout the entire planet, uniting them all. It was a leap though; this could backfire horribly. Who knew, there may be other players or gods here that didn’t like his plan. Or perhaps there would just be stronger foes than those that he had faced, and they would wipe him from existence. But he believed he had the strength to achieve his goal and regardless of the ultimate outcome, he would start here and now.

The woman actually did something that he wasn’t expecting. She got down off the bed and prostrated herself in front of him.

“Kami-sama. I am not worthy to be in your presence.” Her tone was worshipful, if muffled slightly.

“Ah.” Perhaps this was a step too far… He felt a tinge of unease. “There is no need for that Keishara-san. Please rise.” She did as she was told, but refused to look him in the eyes again, keeping her eyes low. “Look at me please.” He instructed.

Slowly she forced herself to stare back into his eyes and began to tremble lightly. He put his glove back on and asked, “Would you like me to return to my human form?”

She just continued to stare, in a trance of some sort.

“Well this conversation won’t go much further if you can’t talk.” He chuckled to himself. “Please close your eyes tightly, this is going to be bright.” She did as she was told and he got up to close the curtains in his room. It wouldn’t be good to have the entire city come knocking at his door asking about some random intense light. He activated his Coalescence again and felt his skin and bones return.

Satisfied he walked back over. “You may open your eyes again.” As he was sitting back in the chair, he saw her green eyes staring at him again. “So, will you follow me if I free you?”

“I will do anything you ask of me Kami-sama!” She practically shouted.

“Must have been the adrenaline getting to her.” He thought. Wait, did elves even have adrenaline? How similar were they to humans anyways? Why did they live so long anyways? Did their cells get reverted every so often like that earth jellyfish?

“…” Time to reel it back and get on track.

Raising his hands, he placated her. “No need for that, just Vörðr is fine. That is my name after all.” He let her calm down for a moment and watched as she sat back on the bed emotionally exhausted. “It’s been a little while since you showed me up here, so how about you go back to your duties for now. I have more information to collect before I can start my plan to free you and your countrymen and flip this empire on its head.” He grinned an almost feral smile at her as he got up and opened the door. As he walked out into the hall, he noticed the inn-keeper looking up the stairs in confusion.

“Is everything alright up there Stendahl-san?” He called.

“Yes, everything is wonderful. I just had a chat with Keishara is all. Her people fascinate me and I wanted to know more.” Vörðr called back down.

Randolph frowned slightly. Why would this newcomer care about a race of slaves? Oh well, he didn’t really mind the musings of one customer, so he went back to work.

The paladin had to suppress a laugh as he watched the elf steady herself on the bannister in an attempt to walk down the stairs.

Taking a stride forward he whispered, “Stay strong Keishara. I’ll come get you when I can.” She nodded imperceptibly and continued down the stairs. She had so much to tell her fellow elves when she got the chance.

Vörðr for his part went back to his room and sat down on the bed. It took him a moment to realize he wasn’t fatigued at all. Given the events of his day he figured he would at least be feeling tired by now, but he felt nothing.

Thinking on it, it must be his new… body? Race?

His new body meant that he didn’t have normal bodily functions. Or at least in his Nebulous form. When he was human, he definitely felt what he would describe as a normal human anatomy. He guessed if he stayed in that form for too long, he would begin to feel tired. Would that mean he could eat and drink and do other things too? He would have to do some testing later.

Letting his Coalescence drop, he activated a Master Assassin skill “True Invisibility”, and jumped out the window. He wanted to go explore the city some more.


	3. The Royal Envoy

**Chapter 3: The Royal Envoy**

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It had been a full day’s gallop to make it back to the capital and the horses had practically been run into the ground. They had no time to waste however as they passed through the massive stone archways and made their way up to the central cathedral.

It was always a site to behold. The enormous stone and glass building had been constructed to honor the Six Great Gods and no expense had been spared. Massive buttresses extended off the side of the structure, spaced between huge stained-glass windows. Colossal towers extended into the sky as if attempting to reach the gods themselves. It glowed in the evening sun a lovely white, a testament to the purity of the marble that faced the world.

The Black Scripture didn’t have time for marveling at architectural wonders however, as Sho pushed them all at a ragged pace. Normally besides the 7th seat, himself, and perhaps a few other necessary members, the rest were left to their own devices once inside the great city. This time however, every single member here would be present to recount their horrible loss.

He looked over at Ilta. Her eyes still seemed glazed over and she didn’t even look at him as he stared at her. Perhaps not every member.

“Ilta, go home.” His tone was soft but commanding. She simply nodded and turned her horse around and began trotting towards her home. He had a feeling she would be useless for at least a little while, so he could at least give her time to rest and recover before being assaulted by questions from the cardinals.

As they approached the towering doors of the cathedral, a set of guards pushed the doors open to allow them to pass. Once inside they strode with purpose towards the meeting chamber. Without doubt reports of their arrival would have already been sent to the cardinals, and so they would be waiting for them.

Sure enough, as Sho opened the door to the council chambers all six cardinals had gathered and were seated in their respective chairs at the end of the room. The chamber was made primarily of stone, with the cardinal’s seats raised above the entryway to give a sense of superiority. Stone columns bordered the walls on the left and right, and various artwork hung between the pillars.

Once all the scripture members had entered the room the door was closed behind them.

After a brief silence, the commander of the six chapters spoke first. “Captain, I’m sure you’re aware of the first question we have for you.” The man’s voice was stern and unwavering.

“Yes Lauransan-dono.” He and the other members bowed. “I deeply apologize, but there is reason for our missing reports.” He paused briefly to gather himself. “We were attacked and defeated by a superior foe.”

Gasps from the cardinals could be heard and echoed off the stone walls of the chamber.

The commander, Raymond Lauransan, raised his right hand slightly. “Please, let us give our undivided attention to the captain so he and his subordinates may give the full report.” Nodding at Sho, he let the man continue.

“Yes, as I was saying, we were defeated by our foe. The unknown object that had fallen into our kingdom landed south-east of Ylinford. We found the impact crater and inside laid an armored figure. While I determined the best course of action, I had the 3rd and 11th seat prepare a set of binding seals in-case the figure attempted to flee.”

“What kind of binding seals?” the Cardinal of Darkness, Maximilian Lagier interrupted.

“A triple layered Planar Entrapment.” He waited as the man seemed to ponder his answer, and then continued once he nodded. “After a day the figure awoke while the 4th, 5th, 8th, and 11th seats were guarding the crater. I will let the 5th seat explain what happened while I had yet to arrive.” Bowing his head slightly, he stepped back and Quaiess stepped forward.

“Thank you Sho-taichō.” The blonde man took a quick breath before diving into his recount of his activities. “While we were on watch, the figure awoke and began to get up. As it stood its armor began to glow and was visible despite the cloudless sun overhead. The four of us watched as it took a step forward to the edge of the barriers we had constructed. From our vantage point, I would have said that it seemed confused or dazed, as it appeared to be holding its head and looking around. After a moment the figure stepped forward and through the barriers. It did not slow down at all.”

Quaiess paused momentarily to let what he just said sink in.

“Given how… surprising it was to watch someone not even struggle through a triple layered Planar Entrapment, I wanted to see if the person could be reasoned with before engaging. I called down a simple greeting, but it appeared to ignore me and stood still holding its hands up. After couple of minutes I requested the 11th seat bind the figure while we waited for the captain to arrive.” He took another breath, remembering how the chaos had unfolded.

“The 11th seat began her binding spell, but immediately we noticed something was wrong. The figure began to push against her spell and within moments had broken free. Unfortunately, the 11th seat was pulled forward and fell into the crater before we could catch her.”

Some more mutterings were heard between the cardinals. Once it died down, he continued.

“It was about that time that the captain and the rest of the team arrived, so I will leave the rest of the report to the captain. Thank you, Cardinals.” He bowed and stepped back to allow Sho to take the lead.

“Once I arrived and assessed the situation, I deemed this unknown figure too much of a threat to allow it further unimpeded movement. I had never seen armor like what it was wearing before, combined with its already demonstrated strength I commanded Kaire to begin the Downfall of Castle and Country. The figure reacted visibly to the spell, but once she completed the enchantment it remained under its own free will.”

Once again, the cardinals were surprised enough to react.

“You are absolutely sure Captain?” the stern voice of Raymond broke the side conversations of the other cardinals.

Sho simply turned and extended a hand towards Kaire. The old woman nodded and stepped forward.

Her voice, despite its hoarseness, held firm under the intense gaze of her superiors. “Yes Lauransan-dono. I completed the sequence and could feel the initial stages of the Downfall of Castle and Country entering its mind. However, after a moment I felt the figure _push_ my control away and then I felt no influence at all. I don’t know how else to explain it.” She bowed and stepped back to her original spot.

“As you can see,” Sho continued. “This figure had already demonstrated incredible feats, and one that I had not thought even to be possible. It was at that point that I had hoped to negotiate with the figure. Before the team and I began the descent into the crater, and bright light flashed and blinded us. When I regained visibility, the figure had pulled its hood back and had revealed itself to look like a human man. I would also like to note that this man had approached the 11th seat where she lay and was conversing with her.”

He could see the cardinals scanning the room looking for her. “Unfortunately, the 11th seat seems especially shaken and so I request that she be allowed time to process everything. I am not entirely sure what the man had told her, but it has affected her greatly. She is currently at home at my instruction.”

The cardinals nodded and he continued. “Once we made our way into the crater and were a few feet away I began conversing with him. He rebuffed me initially when I asked him who he was and where he came from. I then explained who we were in hopes that some recognition of our power and status would placate him. He simply stood with his arms crossed looking at each of us. Then…” Sho sighed heavily. He respected Zesshi’s power and felt pity for her awful upbringing, but it was times like this that she pushed her luck a little too far. Even for a God-kin like herself. “Then Zesshi, the Extra Seat, decided to attack without orders.”

His statement was met with grumblings and what looked like a roll of the eyes from one of the cardinals. After a moment he continued. “We attempted to follow up and utilize what the old scriptures had described as the ‘Tank and Spank’ fighting formation. The man however, seemed to flow around us like water. He wielded a large magical war hammer and utilized it to great effect. Let me be perfectly clear Cardinals.”

He shook his head solemnly. “This was no fluke. Besides the rash actions of Zesshi, each member of the scripture performed their duties exactly as expected. This man did not ambush us, nor did he have any outside assistance. None of this mattered though, as his power was something I’ve never seen before. His physical combat was on a level above even myself or Zesshi. None of our spells appeared to hinder him at all. At some point he began a spell that I recall being named ‘Singularity’.” Sho rubbed his head, even remembering that floating orb seemed to recall the headache that it gave him.

The cardinals were completely silent now. Not a whisper or scratch of a pen was heard, as all sat frozen in rapture listening to his words.

“The spell created a floating orb about 10 meters off the ground above his head. It appeared to warp the space around it. After the orb appeared the 3rd seat fired an ice bolt and the bolt curved up and was sucked into the orb. It was then that every member began to get pulled up towards the sphere. Against our will, we were forced to orbit around this orb, going at increasing speeds as time went on. It is at this point that my memory starts to get sparse, as I began to lose consciousness. According to the 11th seat, who remained conscious for a while after the rest of the scripture, once all members were no longer struggling the man released his spell and we were dropped. Also, according to the 11th seat, the man appeared to check the pulse of the Extra Seat before he proceeded to use some sort of spell to knock her out as well.” This was the single worst report that he had ever given. It was a disgrace that his entire team had gotten taken out by a single man, but he doubted there was anyone in the world that would have fared better.

“Once we awoke, what I believe was at least half an hour later, I sent the Extra Seat as well as the 12th seat to track him down with strict orders to observe but not engage. The rest of us came straight here to give this report.” Sweating lightly like he had just gotten through a workout; he bowed his head and signaled the end of his report.

The cardinals sat in silence for a surprising amount of time. Their strongest scripture had just been utterly defeated by a single man.

A man that appeared to fall from the sky.

A man that could resist an artifact handed down to them from the gods themselves.

And one of their scripture seats seemed so shaken from conversing with him that she is literally at home resting instead of reporting in.

Was this even a man?

The cardinal of wind, Dominic Partouche was the first to speak up. “3rd seat, 7th seat, were you able to observe this man’s power level?”

A young woman dressed in what looks like a school girl’s uniform, and a middle-aged man in mage robes stepped forward.

The woman spoke first. “My observation spells were constantly broken as we were fighting. I’m unsure whether it was simply the power exuding off of him during the fight, or if he was actively finding and breaking them.” She shivered slightly. “From what I saw when I was able to activate my Aura Sense, he…” She gulped audibly. “His aura blinded me when I looked at him.” She shivered and stepped back.

The man continued where she left off. “My Obtain Level spell did not work. It simply returned what I understood to be question marks and no definable level.” He bowed and stepped back as well.

“Captain, would you believe that this man was another God-kin, simply one stronger than yourself or Zesshi?” The cardinal of fire, Berenice Santini questioned.

“No Santini-dono. From my limited knowledge… the gulf of power between us is too great. I would hesitate to believe it based on someone else’s account, but having seen him myself I believe he is above a God-kin.”

“So, a God then.” The woman replied flatly.

“I do not know enough to be sure, but it’s entirely possible.” He held her gaze for a moment.

“If that is the case,” Maximilian rose from his seat. “I have much research to do. We have old tombs pertaining to the gods of old. And I fear we will need their knowledge once again.” He turned and walked out of the room at a steady pace, already deep in thought.

Raymond addressed the scripture again. “Based on your experience with this man, can you guess at all his intentions in our country?”

Sho thought about his interactions with the man, then remembered something the man had shouted in the middle of the battle. “He had told us that we didn’t ‘know of [him] or [his] kin.’ And that he would ‘spare us’ because our intentions seemed ‘honorable.’ That leads me to believe he is not intentionally malicious, but I cannot be sure at this time. That also reinforces the theory that he is a being from beyond our plane of existence.”

“Hm, based on your assessment I _want_ to believe you. But for now, we cannot be sure. The Black Scripture is to remain in the capital to protect the heads of state for now. As many of the Windflower and Clearwater Scriptures as can be spared will be assigned to locate this man. Like you told the 12th seat and the Extra Seat, we will wait to engage until the optimal time if necessary. But we cannot let this foreign entity freely roam around our country without our knowledge. While he is being observed, we will determine our next course of action.”

“Lauransan-dono” The scripture all said in unison as they bowed.

“There is another thing that happened while you were away and is of utmost importance. We have not heard from the Sunlight Scripture since the report that the 7th seat gave us. It is entirely possible that a single magic caster wiped them out.”

This was very bad. Their strongest scripture was beaten by a single man, and the Sunlight Scripture was likely wiped out by an entirely different entity.

New gods might have entered their domain yet again. They had to find out more or this could spell disaster for them and their country.

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“Fenrir!” He dropped the potion he had been looking at and dashed out of the store. Hanging a left, he booked it down the road and towards the main gate. “I’m sorry buddy! I’m coming for ya!” Somewhere along the way he activated his invisibility, so he wouldn’t attract attention when he started sprinting at inhuman speeds. Blowing past the gate and creating a small gust of wind as he went, he altered his trajectory, headed off the road, and across the field towards the forest edge.

It had been a whole two days since he had left his summoned wolf outside the city walls and he felt so bad! But come on! He never had to deal with a permanent summons before!

Bounding into the forest he kept running towards the area that he left the wolf. Upon his approach he found his giant wolf right where he left him.

“Oh, thank goodness.” He slowed down and walked up to his wolf. “Hey Fen! I’m sorry I left you here.” He received a huff from the giant beast, and it then rolled on its side to expose its belly. “Ok I guess you earned a good belly scratching.” He reached up began scratching the beast all over his stomach and chest. Noticing Fenrir’s leg started kicking, he knew he had found what he called the “Scratchy Spot” and proceeded to scratch even harder. After a few moments he backed off.

“Ok buddy, let’s go hunting, shall we? I bet you’re starving!” The wolf barked in return and after standing up, shook itself vigorously. Jumping up onto the saddle he patted the wolf on its side. “Ok go for it, Fen! Just no humans or elves ok? Stick to the local wildlife.”

The beast lowered its giant head to the ground and began sniffing around. Padding softly about the clearing the wolf sniffed until it seemed to pick up something. Raising its head, it took off in an outwardly random direction, bounding past trees and over fallen logs.

Several hours of hunting and gorging itself on the local animals later, the giant wolf was content. If Vörðr reached down he could feel a slight bulge in its belly where many creatures were now being broken down.

“Well then, you are just one big fat wolfy aren’t you?” He rubbed its head and the beast rumbled happily in reply. This would keep Fenrir happy for a least a couple of days.

Now how could he keep his companion fed long term? He could simply let the wolf run amuck in the forest, but he had a feeling that eventually some unfortunate souls would stumble upon him. And then he would have to explain why a bunch of “Adventurers” had gotten eaten by his giant wolf.

Ugh, the adventurer’s guild. What a pain that place was.

When he had found the guild hall last night and snuck in under the cover of his invisibility, he was ecstatic. Maybe there were some high-level quests that he could use to raise his fame here and start spreading his name! Or some awesome loot to be had searching through dungeons, just like in Yggdrasil!

But no, he had read some signs and forms hung up on their listings board using a simple translation spell and his hopes had come crashing down.

“All adventurers must start as a copper plate. No exceptions.”

Apparently, there had been lots of adventurers that thought they were stronger than they actually were and had gotten either clients or themselves killed. But Vörðr _knew_ he was stronger than just about anyone else on this planet. There was no way he was going to waste time building from a copper plate doing menial tasks like clearing out level 1 rats or some other crap. Apparently after many months or years one could build up to their highest ranked adventurer: adamantite.

Adamantite, now that was funny. That was absolutely not the strongest or most sought-after metal in Yggdrasil, not even close. It was decent once you were through a good chunk of the game, but to do any sort of PvP or end-game content you _had_ to get prismatic equipment. The difference in power level between two level 100s, if one had only adamantite gear and the other had end-game prismatic equipment, was like the difference between a level 70 and level 100. Not even a fair fight!

What a joke.

He decided to pass on the guild for now. It wasn’t like he was short on cash, he had mountains of gold and other valuables that he could trade or sell. He was sad that he couldn’t go on any quests, but he supposed he had bigger fish to fry for now.

He sighed to himself as his wolf lumbered back to his original resting place. It circled once before plopping down and rolling to its side, essentially throwing him off and onto the ground. Rolling as he hit the dirt, he popped back up easily. Dusting himself off, he walked around and noticed the wolf’s paw prints. Man, this thing was massive. Its paws were almost two feet long and wide. Those could easily crush a man if Fenrir decided to step on someone.

Back to his current dilemma, Fenrir was without a doubt a permanent part of the world now. And therefore, he needed to figure out a safe way to get him fed without getting the local populace too startled. He needed to be able to hunt or something… Hunting.

Hm.

Hunters! He could employ some local hunters to keep him fed! At least until he found a better arrangement.

Now he had to think on a cover story.

He put his hand to his chin and thought. Perhaps he could pretend to be a visiting warrior noble? Yeah that could work, and would explain the different money and giant mount.

He could be from a faraway kingdom to the…

Giant wolf, wolves live in colder climates, tall red-haired man…

North! A kingdom to the north! Where having giant wolves as pets was totally normal. He would call it… Scotland. He chuckled to himself. Yes, Vörðr Stendahl from Scotland with his giant wolf companion Fenrir. That sounded a least vaguely believable. He just hoped there wasn’t a Scotland in this world for real or he was screwed.

“Good boy,” he patted the wolves head affectionately. “Stay. I’ll be back for you in a few days ok?”

The stars were just beginning to peak out as he made his way back to the gates, hoping Fenrir could hold out for another day. He would make his grand entrance in the morning after next.

As he made his way back to the entrance, he noticed the guards were now checking every person that tried to enter or exit. Not feeling like dealing with them, he simply went invisible. Continuing into the city unimpeded he made his way back to the Yellow Rabbit. After entering he smiled at Keishara, who did her best not to stare as he walked by.

Upon entering his room, he sat back on the bed. The man sighed and rubbed his face, feeling slightly spent. The human form faded away and the cloak went up. Thankfully the exhaustion didn’t carry over into his true form. Feeling more invigorated as he entered his true form, he stood up.

He had so much more of this city to explore and things to learn about this world. Maybe tonight he would sneak into that big cathedral in the center of the city and learn about these old “gods” that everyone around here worshipped.

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In a different part of the city, a man slunk through alleyways and made his way to a nondescript door. He knocked twice.

Opening a small slot at eye level someone on the other side looked at him for a moment and then slammed the slot shut. The clinking of metal was followed by the door opening slowly revealing a large woman missing an eye and wearing some sort of leather armor. Her bare arms carried plenty of scars, showing many battles fought and survived. She carried a couple of sharp-looking short swords that glinted in the candlelight.

A surprisingly soft voice, exited her mouth. “What brings you to our establishment, Heaven and Earth?” The woman questioned him.

His voice came out muffled by his suit. “I am looking for information on a man that may have entered the city within the last couple of days. It is a matter of security to the Theocracy.”

“And you weren’t followed?” She looked back towards the door.

“None can see me when I don’t want them to.” He reassured.

The woman nodded and jerked her head to the left towards another door. Striding through it he found a few humans as well as elves scurrying about carrying papers. At the center of the room a woman stood reading a scroll and frowning at it. She had long black hair braided down her back. She wore leather armor similar to the door guard, but hers had metal plates interlaced throughout it. Her onyx eyes left the parchment and met his eyes.

“Heaven and Earth.” She nodded in his direction as he approached the table. “Welcome to the Six Eyes East. What can I do for you?” Her tone businesslike.

“I am looking for a man that may have entered this city within the last two days. He is tall, red hair, might have been wearing black armor and carrying a war hammer.”

She shrugged at him. “Oh, that’s very interesting.”

He fought the urge to growl. This woman and her idiotic word games could really get on his nerves sometimes. There was a reason his job was to kill people most of the time: it involved less talking. “This is a matter of security for the _Theocracy_.”

That caught her attention, and she smirked ever so slightly. Matters of security for their government meant they were willing to pay, and the church always had deep pockets. And if Heaven and Earth was here requesting the information personally, it had to be big.

“I might have heard reports of someone matching that description.” She went back to reading her scroll.

He wanted to stab her in her throat and wipe that stupid smile off her face, but he resisted. The theocracy needed the Six Eyes East and killing off their leader wouldn’t do him any favors in the long run. “I am willing to offer double the normal rate.”

She didn’t even bother looking at him. “Inflation has been really killing us lately.”

“Triple times the normal rate, and that is my final offer before I go get the information myself.” He spoke through gritted teeth. The sooner he could get his information the sooner he could get back to his task.

She put her scroll down and smiled at him. “Oh, no need to waste your time doing that. Ailen!” She barked out.

A male elf scurried up and bowed. “Yes ma’am.”

“Go get the report on that big armored guy that came in two nights ago through the eastern gate. And be quick about it!” She shooed him away. Once he was gone, she picked up the scroll she had been reading, ignoring her customer entirely.

The 12th seat of the Black Scripture entertained himself by flipping a small knife while he waited.

The assassin really hoped this was the person he was looking for. He had found _no_ human tracks anywhere outside of the crater! None! It was like the man was a goddam ghost. It took him an entire day and a half before he finally found those huge paw prints, and deciding to follow those had just been a wild guess. They had looked so out of place that he figured they meant something.

Once he determined the general direction of the prints, the cutthroat deduced where they were headed and altered his course. He looped around the city and entered from the northern gates. It wouldn’t be advantageous if his target was prepared for someone following him, and had been lying in wait just outside the city.

Finally, after a few minutes the elf scurried back in with a scroll. He bowed, placed the document on the table, and hurried back to his normal duties.

Unfurling the scroll, she scanned its contents. “Tall man in black armor carrying war hammer appeared through the eastern gate approximately 6pm two days ago.”

Damn that was fast, it took him less than two hours to reach the city. That was at least three times faster than he could have gotten here on a fresh horse. Interesting.

“Yesterday he was seen around various parts of the eastern shopping and housing districts, not stopping for too long at anywhere in particular. Finally, he was spotted leaving the Yellow Rabbit Inn earlier this evening.” She rolled up the scroll and handed it over to the assassin. He opened it and skimmed it as well, confirming what she had told him.

Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out a pouch of coins. He regretted having to pay triple the normal rate, but this was important. In the end though it wasn’t his money, so he didn’t really care.

“Thank you for your business Heaven and Earth. Anything else I can help you with?” She smiled at him in a predatory way.

“No.” He bowed slightly and turned to walk out of the room. He had an idea where his target was staying, so he had some surveillance to do. He figured he could also send out some transmissions to the rest of his team. He knew the others were in the capital likely waiting for word from him. He had no idea where Zesshi was, and didn’t really care. She was nuts and if he could keep away from her for any amount of time, he considered it a blessing.

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It was early morning as Vörðr exited the inn in search of more things to explore in the city. It was quite a large place and he was learning so much about the local people and this new world!

As he meandered down the street, he felt a presence following him.

“It seems like I have an audience. Let’s see if he likes a game of hide and seek.” Smirking to himself, he ducked into a nearby alley and activated his invisibility spell. Using his fly spell, he silently floated up to the rooftops and found his stalker. “One of the Black Scripture members. Go figure they found me so quickly.” He watched as the man shimmered and became translucent.

“Oh, he knows some sort of stealth spell. Unfortunately for him, I have some key bounty hunting talents that are way above his level.” He watched with no small amount of satisfaction as the man frantically searched around for the now missing target.

Floating back down into the alley, he began his little game. Releasing his _true_ invisibility cloak, he ducked back out of the alley and continued on his merry way. Once he felt the figure reacquire his location, he would find a convenient crowd or stall to duck into before activating his spell again.

He cackled to himself as he undoubtedly was making the man think he was losing his edge, or going insane.

This went on for a large part of the day. Each time the assassin would find him again he would go invisible and move further away, testing the limits and tracking ability of the man. During his escapades he had quite a lot of fun with the local populace as well. He had met a few kindly shop keepers, flirted with some local maidens, shared drinks with a few military types in a bar. He refrained from sharing his name with most people, and often kept his helmet on when he could. He had an act to play tomorrow after all, and it wouldn’t be easy if half the town already knew him.

Eventually though, he grew tired of his game with the shifty man. One last time he dipped into a nearby alley. This time however he activated not only his invisibility, but he returned to his Nebulous form as well. This would allow him near perfect night vision, and this evening he had parts of the Ylinford underbelly to observe.

 _Without_ a follower.

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**Entry 1: First full day of observations.**

What the actual hell. I spent a full day trying to track this man and I have further solidified my theory that he is a ghost. He enters shops and never leaves. He leaves from shops he’s never entered. He will appear in the middle of a crowd a street over from where I last saw him.

I lost him completely around 5pm and have not been able to find him again. His room at the inn has remained undisturbed.

I am tracking a phantom, I swear.

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Today was the big day! It was a crystal-clear morning and the air was crisp and refreshing, a perfect day for a big entrance.

He floating up to his window at the inn and passed through it. Once inside he closed the curtains and activated his human form. The transition was already starting to feel a lot more fluid now. Before it had been a very clear transition that had left him sifting through so many varied feelings and emotions, but now it felt like he just donning a business suit or something. He opened the door to his room and looked back to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind. Nodding, he closed the door and marched down the wooden staircase.

He strode up to what served as the front desk and spotting Randolph Stin shuffling through some sort of paperwork. The rotund man looked up and smiled.

“Ah, Stendahl-san, I hope your stay is going well?” He inquired.

Vörðr nodded. “Yes quite. I’m actually going to check out today if you don’t mind. I have completed my research and now have business to attend to. I will be departing this morning.”

The inn-keeper looked surprised, but not overly so. “Oh ok, well I can refund you the extra night if you give me a moment.”

The taller man shook his head. “No need, your hospitality has been much appreciated. Please keep the change as a… gift. I have no doubt you will be seeing me again, and I hope you remember it.”

“Of course, Stendahl-san you are always welcome here at the Yellow Rabbit. Thank you very much!” He waved as Vörðr turned away and began to walk towards the front door.

The paladin noticed a different elf woman was manning the front today, but she seemed to give him the same kind of look that Keishara gave him. His first devotee must have been talking with her fellow slaves if he had to guess. Good. If the slaves could spread the information amongst themselves it would be much easier to _release_ them, as it were. He sent a winning smile her way and took pleasure in her attempt at hiding a blush.

As he exited the inn, he made sure he hadn’t been spotted by his follower from the previous day. Confirming that no one was looking, he activated his invisibility and made his way to the main eastern gate. Walking across the field that separated the city walls from the forest, the ethereal man made his way towards the monster that awaited him. Releasing his invisibility, he walked up to Fenrir.

“Good morning boy.” He smiled and patted the great beast on its head. “Are you ready to make our grand entrance?”

The wolf barked in reply and stood up to stretch. Releasing a great big yawn, it then bounded around the clearing, clearly excited about getting to go see a new area. As his wolf prepared itself, he reached into his inventory and pulled out one of his favorite sets of armor. It had been a quest reward, and although it wasn’t prismatic, it was adamantite and would serve his purposes wonderfully. The metal protection was a truly gorgeous set of armor, now that he got a good look at them.

In addition to the smoke grey metal, the set had a decorative blue and green checker sash and deep blue kilt-like leg covering. This armor was much more ornate than his standard armor and had small etchings throughout, emphasizing the beauty of the piece. The suit came with a standard knight’s helm that had a few angled slits for visibility and breathing. To make the look complete he put away his war hammer and took out a Zweihänder sword. The weapon was 5 and a half feet long and felt weightless in his grip.

Fortunately for him, his human avatar was about 6’6” and so the sword wouldn’t scrap along the ground as he walked. Nonetheless, this was a massive sword. Taking a few test swings with it, he was satisfied and placed it on his back. Then the paladin took out a simple short sword and a kite shield. The shield was painted the same deep blue as the sash. On its face a white infinity knot circled around a grey wolf’s head. The sword went on his hip and the shield on his back.

Yes, this would do quite nicely. The armor wasn’t above what the new world could produce he figured, but still made him stand out in a crowd. The weapons would let the local populace know he was not one to be trifled with. Finally, the insignia on the shield he could play off as a family crest.

Once again, he thanked his past self for being a role-playing hoarder. He knew he kept repeating that line of thought, but all these items were coming in so handy!

Back to reality, Fenrir had calmed itself down and the man leapt up its back. He instructed the wolf to proceed towards the road and then on to the city. As they began moving, he wondered if he should remove the armor off his mount and just leave the saddle, but then thought better of it.

He was here to make a statement, and boy did a fully-armored house-sized wolf make a _statement_. A statement that said, “Mess with me and you’ll make a lovely ornament hanging off these two-foot-long spikes!”

Those few on the road steered very clear of him and a few even just turned around and went back the way they came. One unfortunate group had attempted to take their carriage off the road and got themselves stuck in a small ditch. That made him laugh. Their own fault really, it wasn’t like he was doing anything besides riding his mount slowly down the road. It wasn’t his decision to make the foot falls of Fenrir shake the ground nearby, he was just that heavy!

As he got within about 200 meters from the city gates, a group of guards with pikes came rushing out to meet him. About what he expected.

The regiment consisted of about 30 soldiers in standard chainmail with metal plates. The pikes looked sharp, but Vörðr knew they would even be able to scratch him nor his mount.

Pathetic.

“H-halt s-sir!” What he assumed to be the captain, called out. Instead of a pike the man had a broadsword and had a small feather sticking out of his helmet. He patted Fenrir and the wolf came to a stop.

The wolf growled angrily at the pests that were pointing sticks at him.

“Relax boy, this is all part of the show.” He whispered into the wolf’s ear. Swinging his leg over the saddle he dropped the impressive height down to the ground and landed with a thud. Straightening slightly, he took off his helmet and stuck it in the crux of his arm. Striding forward to greet the guards, he gave a slight bow.

“Greetings sirs! My name is Vörðr Stendahl and I, along with my mount Fenrir, hail from a country to the North called Scotland. I am here to expand my country’s diplomatic relations with the great countries of the south.” He put on a curious face. “Who do I have the pleasure of meeting?”

The captain cleared his throat and obviously had to steady himself. “I am Johnathon Rhepsire and I’m a captain of the city guard of Ylinford.” He paused for a moment. “Good to meet you Stendahl-san.”

“Likewise.”

It was at this time that Fenrir decided it would be appropriate to snap at one of the pikemen. He grabbed the man’s weapon out of his grasp, snapped it like a twig in his jaws, and let it clatter to the ground. The guards all yelped and the captain took a couple of steps back.

Vörðr made a show of laughing. “Down boy!” He turned so that he could reach up and pat the wolf on the neck. “These are nice people, no need to eat any of them.” He said to the wolf, just loud enough for the guards to hear. The Nebulous then turned back, “He’s normally pretty pleasant, perhaps if you lowered your weapons he would calm down.” He put a broad smile on his face, attempting to show they meant no harm.

After a few tense moments, the captain gave stern instruction. “Lower your weapons men, we have no reason to pick a fight with Stendahl-san or his wolf…” The captain eyed his beast.

“Fenrir.” The red-haired man supplied.

“Fenrir.” He said flatly before looking back at Vörðr. “You said you’re an envoy from a northern country?”

“Yes, a _royal_ envoy to be exact.” Adding extra emphasis to ‘royal’.

“Ah, yes well… Very good sir. If you would be so kind as to wait here while I go speak with a superior, we should be able get this all sorted.” Vörðr nodded and watched as the captain marched away.

As they waited, he noticed the guards didn’t seem to calm down. He could have some fun with that.

“Do you want to know what he eats?” He asked to the group. The guards looked at each other and he ignored them to pat his companion. “He eats at least 3 whole deer a day: bones, guts and all! Though… up north the deer are much larger. So perhaps more than 3 of the tiny deer you have around here.” He sent a predatory smirk towards the guards.

“That’s a lotta poop.” He heard one of the guards mutter.

That got a genuine laugh out of him. “Yes! It is! His poop is so huge!” He tried to contain himself but the imagery of a man being buried in poop made more laughter burst forth. That guard had gotten him good.

This managed to break the tension and even a few of the guards chuckled along with him.

Then a thump and the sound of stone shifting came from behind him. It hadn’t sounded like what he was hoping it wasn’t, but he snuck a glance backwards, dreading what he would see.

Thankfully he just saw Fenrir sitting and staring at him, and the man got the impression that his furry beast had done that on purpose. He let out a silent breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. Vörðr met the eyes of the animal and shook his head in mirth.

“If you’re a royal, sir. Then where’s your, uh, group of guards and whatnot?” One of the pikemen spoke up after a minute.

“Between myself and my boy Fenrir here, I don’t really need any additional protection.” Now that was definitely the truth. Vörðr patted his short sword. “Any of you want to test your mettle?”

Silence was all he got in return. “Ah, well that’s a shame.” He bemoaned.

As they waited, he noticed traffic had slowly, and giving them wide berth, started to flow again. He whistled a tune to himself softly.

After a number of minutes, the same captain came running back towards them.

“Stendahl-dono.” He raised an eyebrow at the new honorific. “Please accompany my men and me through the gates, our lord is expecting you.” The captain turned and instructed something to the soldiers. As Vörðr leapt back up onto his mount he noticed the guards had split, with half of them in front of him and half behind. He wondered if this was for any sort of protection, or if they just wanted to assure the populace a giant armored monster wasn’t on the loose inside their city.

As expected, even with the newly added entourage almost everyone they passed either gaped at him or ran away panic in their eyes. A few children did run up and attempt to pet his “giant doggie” before their parents snatched them away. Easy enough for him, it let him pass easily while making waves with his mere presence. All part of his plan.

As they were led, he thought about the somewhat… basic plot that he had formed. Sure, he knew how to plan things, but what he was essentially attempting was a revolution. And that was something that had simply never come up before.

Simply put, he first wanted to arrive to this city and make his name known. Then he would summon his legendary flying mount to act as a “great beast” for him to defeat and “subjugate” in front of everyone, solidifying him as a hero to the local populace. Finally, once he felt like the populace was truly enamored with him, he would denounce the act of slavery. He would then offer freedom to every slave. During that whole time, he figured he could be feeding information and equipment to the slaves so that, should their masters refuse, the slaves could simply free themselves.

And that was the long and short of it. Not the most thorough strategy he figured, but it could work. In general, no idea ever survived implementation anyways. So, the simpler the scheme was, the easier it would be to change on the fly.

He also had his “true form” as a kind of trump card. If the immortal felt like he wasn’t making enough traction, he would simply reveal himself and they would probably fall at his feet. That card would stay up his sleeve for now, only to be used if truly necessary.

He would also use it if he felt like everything was taking too long. He couldn’t stay in this city forever. He had a world to unite after all.

“Oh, it’s truly as magnificent as I’ve been told.” A honeyed voice called out.

Vörðr looked over and at the top of a set of steps that led up into the central cathedral stood a fat man in priest robes. The man wore a cardinal hat of red and yellow, and was extremely pale. He caught what looked like rings on every finger of the man’s pudgy hands.

Vörðr already knew he would hate this man, but he put on a pleasant smile. He had an act to play for now.

He watched curiously as the overweight figure made slow progress down the steps. It seemed quite the effort for him, as by the time he had made it to the last steps he was breathing heavily and had beads of sweat on his forehead. The man took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead.

“Oh, your dog is one of the most striking beasts I’ve ever seen! Ah where are my manners, welcome to our beautiful city Vörðr-dono.” The thick words tumbled out of the man’s mouth. “I hope your journey wasn’t taxing?”

Vörðr swung his legs over and dropped to the ground in front of the large man. Just like most everyone in this world, the paladin towered over the cardinal, so he had to look down to meet his eyes. “No, it wasn’t taxing at all. Fenrir here does most of the leg work.” He patted the wolf on the leg. “You have me at a disadvantage...” he trailed off.

“Henvidd Haman. I am the chief cardinal and governor of Ylinford.” He made an effort to bow, but didn’t make it very far.

“Haman-dono.” He bowed lightly. “Thank you for your welcome.”

More honeyed words assaulted his ears. “Of course, of course! We are honored to have a guest such as yourself! You’ll have to tell me all about this Scetland of yours.”

“Scotland.” He corrected half-heartedly.

“Of course, of course!” The man practically giggled to himself. “Please come with me, I would love to show the Great Gods Cathedral. You see, it was made-” The man began to turn away.

“Before we go,” the red-haired man interrupted. “Is there somewhere that Fenrir can stay? An open area or something? He’s won’t eat any local children, unless they crawl into his mouth.”

“Yes! Of course, of course! Jimithy!” He turned to the captain of the guards.

“It’s Johnathon.” The man muttered in reply, clearly used to the treatment at this point.

“Would you please take the big pup here down to Wind God Park? That should be enough space for the boy to run around as he pleases.” He waved his hand dismissively as if to shoo the captain away.

“Of course, Cardinal-dono.” The man bowed and turned to look at the massive beast. “Come on Fenrir-san.” His voice sounded far from confident, but Vörðr had to give him props for trying.

Fenrir simply growled in response.

Vörðr rolled his eyes and walked up to his companion. “Fenrir, be good and follow the captain. If there’s any trouble you can just come running back here ok?” He patted the wolf on its shoulder.

It grumbled in reply but soon began plodding along, none too enthusiastically, behind the guard troop.

A loud clap behind the paladin rang out. “Excellent! Now please follow me Vörðr-dono. Now tell me all about Scotland! What is it like up there? I’d imagine it’s pretty cold if it’s north of the Re-Estize Kingdom!”

Vörðr resisted the urge to grimace as he walked with the governor. What had he gotten himself into?

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In one of their Floor Guardian meeting rooms Demiurge and Albedo discussed various events happening around Nazarick.

“Demiurge, how has the scouting been going?” Albedo was truly curious about this new land that they had been transported to. Although so far, they had only encountered vile insects that hurt her lord or wasted his time.

“Quite well Albedo. I have scouts roaming the nearby country-side, Carne Village, and E-Rantel gathering information for our lord.” The Arch-Devil’s smooth voice flicked through the list.

The Floor Guardian Overseer nodded in response. “And what of that meteorite, as Momonga-sama put it. Have you found where it landed so we may gather it for our lord?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. It appears that it landed far to the South in what is known as the Slane Theocracy. It will take many days or weeks for my agents to locate the crash site.”

“Very well, make it so.”


	4. A Royal Beatdown

**Chapter 4: A Royal Beatdown**

**AN: Slight AU note:**

**Because the Black Scripture was called to stay in the capital, they never encountered Shalltear. Which means she never got brainwashed, killed, resurrected, became a chair, etc. Though I think I do have a good way to get some of those interactions back in the story at a later date. Most of that stuff would have been happening in the background of this story anyways, and I don’t see it having far reaching consequences.**

**The Slane Theocracy still learns of the prophecy of the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord. At the moment however they are more worried about the god that is currently strolling around their country, than the one that _might_ show up later somewhere else.**

**Also, as the OC changes things, this work will become more and more canon-divergent. Some original arcs will happen, or will just be slightly altered, but I won’t be making note of the changes very often as it should just be obvious what’s different.**

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Sho made his way down the manicured stone streets towards Ilta’s home. It had been three days since he had seen or heard from the spellcaster, and he wanted to go check on her.

Walking up the steps, he approached her house. It was a curious structure, with eclectic paint and decorations spread out like a perplexing work of art. He had been to her place of residence once before, and found the inside to be just as colorful as the outside.

He knocked on a purple wooden door three times and stood back to wait.

After a minute he heard some rustling inside and the door creaked open. Inside Ilta stood wearing what looked like a wool robe and a regular sized witch hat. She looked… like she’d seen better days. Her eyes were bloodshot and her stature slumped. Even her normally untidy braids had become messier, if such a thing was possible.

Sho greeted her with a smile. “Hello Ilta-san, I hope you’re feeling better. May I come in?”

“Do you want to?” She replied with almost no inflection.

“I would if you don’t mind.”

“…”

“Yes Ilta-san, I’d like to come in.”

“Please come in then.”

He nodded his head and walked inside, following her as she led him to a living room filled to the brim with stacks of books. A floating teapot made its way over to Ilta and her hand plucked it out of the air. Pouring two cups of tea, the teapot was let go and floated off. The exhausted looking woman picked one of her many overstuffed chairs to slouch into and began fiddling with her cup.

Sho grabbed the other tea cup and sat across the small room, shifting around in the swollen chair until he felt at least somewhat dignified. He took a sip of the tea and found it to be sweetened green tea. Not his personal favorite, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

“Ilta-san, how are you doing?” He got straight to the point. “Are you able to talk about your… experience now?”

The blue-haired woman looked at him and shrugged. “I’m probably traumatized. But we can talk about it if you want to.”

“If it’s ok.”

“…”

“Yes, I’d like to talk about it please.”

“Ok.”

Whoever put him in charge of such a strange group of people sure had a funny sense of humor, the captain thought to himself.

“Please start from the beginning of when he approached you. You also didn’t move when everyone attacked him. What happened.”

“I’m pretty sure I spoke with a god.” Her tone relayed nothing despite the bold claim. “He told me his name. Then he changed into a man and beat the daylights out of everyone. After that he told me about some grand plan to unite the world and put a sleep spell on me.”

Sho watched as a shaking hand brought the cup up to his subordinate’s lips, and then brought it down to clatter faintly on the saucer. She was obviously trying to force herself back into normalcy without processing the events. He needed her in top form once they got a message from Zesshi or Hatok-Das.

Or, at the very least, he and his superiors needed to know what the man had said to her.

“Ilta, I know you don’t want to, but you need to actually talk about this, and not brush it aside. You are clearly still not in a good state of mind.” He kept his voice level despite the admonishment.

In a rare show of emotion, she burst up and aimed a finger at him. “You didn’t look into his _real_ eyes! You didn’t hear his _real_ voice! I did!” She got louder with each word, almost shouting at this point. “He still haunts me in my dreams! Haunts me when I’m awake! I hear that chorus of whispers and see those burning eyes glaring at me! How can someone stay sane when they see God?” She was beginning to lose steam, and collapsed back into the chair. “Nothing the Theocracy has told us about the gods makes sense anymore.” She breathed deeply for a moment, then released it and sank further into the cushions. “He could have wiped us from existence without even trying.”

The captain had held back through her outburst, but decided to interject here. “But he didn’t. Why?”

She glowered at him. “I don’t know. Maybe it was his divine goal or something.”

This wasn’t helping as much as he had been hoping. Sho took a moment to think back to his younger years. His mother had still been around then, and had been kind and supportive through his more “angsty” years. “Um, have you tried journaling about it? Maybe that will help you manage these nightmares.” He offered with an apologetic smile.

A small notebook floated over and landed in his lap. He looked up at her curiously.

“I have been.”

He slowly opened the book and was taken aback by what it contained.

Inside, scrawling across every inch were repeated phrases and rambling half-sentences. Some were upside down, where others followed the edges of the pages and wrapped around the corners.

Vörðr. _Vörðr._ **Vörðr**. Vörðr. **V** **ÖRÐR.**

He’s a Warden! Warden. What is a Warden?

Those eyes are everywhere. They see into me. _My soul._

Not a threat! We’re not a threat. **No threat!**

Sho turned a page and found more of the same.

Kill us all. **He hoped he didn’t kill us all!** Kill us. I could be dead. _What will I do?_

His voice won’t let me sleep! He **echoes** in the **silence.**

He’s a guardian. **Guardian of the World! _We are nothing to him._**

Vörðr! **Vörðr.** Said he would protect us all. _WHY?_

Great evils. _They threaten the universe._ We have no power.

Life is precious? **Why is it precious?**

 **The eyes follow me!** They burn me.

Sho stopped reading and gently closed the diary. He slowly set it aside.

Wow.

What on earth had she seen and heard to cause this level of breakdown? This was less journaling and more the ravings of a mad woman.

Perhaps he should start again. “Ilta, I want to help you. Not just as your captain but as a friend. How can I help? Your journal, it’s not… normal.” He hoped this offering would help break her barriers just a little. He had never been particularly close with the 11th seat of the Black Scripture, but she was part of his team and therefore important.

“I know.” She shrugged.

“Ok well something else that might help is talking frankly and honestly about this experience. Not hiding behind your normal façade, but telling someone who will listen. As odd as it sounds, I think that outburst earlier was a good start.”

She looked him dead in the eyes and stared impassively.

“Please.”

“Fine.” She huffed and looked down.

“Just start with his name. It seems like he said it was Vörðr, correct?”

The magic caster nodded once.

“Ok well that’s good, I guess. Now we have something to call him besides just, ‘That guy that threw us around like children’s toys.’” He chuckled lightly and saw her smile a little. “Tell me about his voice and eyes, you said they didn’t look human?” He wasn’t thrilled with playing psychiatrist at this point, but this was all vital information. And he wanted her to get better too.

Across the room, he saw the woman shudder visibly. “I’ll never forget his eyes. They weren’t even eyes. He didn’t even have a face! Just this _black void…_ ” She saw him raise a hand and stopped to breathe before she could get going again.

“It was just a black abyss and a pair of burning spheres hovered there like eyes. It felt like they were boring into me, seeing _through_ me. His voice… he sounded like a person that had a thousand other people murmuring with him. Like he wasn’t a person, but a whole existence of people.”

Sho tried to imagine that and nodded slightly. That did sound particularly alien. No magic that he’d ever even heard of produced that type of effect.

“Ok that does indeed sound… different. And he said things like he was a warden and that there were great evils?”

“Yes.” She rubbed her head. “He said that the world didn’t need to be protected against him, but that he was its guardian. He also called himself a warden. I don’t know if he considered those two different things, but that’s what I remember.”

Sho nodded again, this was all very intriguing.

“He stated there was some greater evil that would threaten all life, and that all life was precious. He said he would ‘cleanse the land of its bickering and unite it.’” She took another deep breath, released it, and took another sip of tea.

“And that’s everything that he told you?” Sho pressed with a raised eyebrow.

“Taichō.” She locked eyes with him. “When I was in that crater, I felt the world be stripped away and I along with it. He was a pillar of light that burned my eyes and my mind, but I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t even think straight… but… Yes, that’s what I remember him saying.”

“Ok,” The captain stood up and walked over to her. As she looked up at him, he smiled and squeezed her shoulder. “Thank you Ilta.” It was a surprisingly warm gesture coming from the captain of the Black Scripture but contrary to what some might think, he does truly care for his soldiers. They were all the family he had left at this point.

“If you feel up to it, join the team for our meeting tomorrow. They would appreciate seeing you, and I think it would help you too. I know Rose-san would really like to speak with you; she’s been pretty shaken up as well.”

Ilta nodded and looked down into her half-empty cup.

“Now I have to go report what you’ve told me to the Cardinals. Have a good day Ilta-san, I hope you can get some good rest.” He turned and walked out of her home. What a mess this was. He hoped the cardinals could help put some perspective on it all. The commander especially, his wisdom was always insightful.

As he was making his way to the central cathedral a courier ran up to him.

“A message for you sir.” The courier handed Sho a sealed scroll. He nodded in thanks and took it. He looked at the seal and recognized it as Hatok-Das’. He tucked the scroll away and continued to the cathedral. He would open it in a more secure area.

Once he entered the giant marble tribute-to-the-gods, he marched through the linear hallways until he found an open conference room. He entered quietly and closed the door behind him. Then the captain took the scroll out, broke the seal, and unrolled it.

“It looks like Hatok-Das-san has found Vörðr. In Ylinford no less.” Rolling the scroll back up he exited the room and made his way to the office of the commander of the Six Scriptures, Raymond Lauransan.

He reached the large wooden door and knocked twice. After a moment he heard a muffled, “Come in.” He entered and locked eyes with his commander.

“We have quite a bit to talk about.”

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He’d made a horrible mistake!

This was undoubtedly the worst decision of his life.

Vörðr rubbed his eyes and slumped to the ground, practically crawling up to Fenrir.

He had talked and been talked _at_ more in the last two days than he had in his entire life… or least it felt like it.

The redhead pushed himself up to lay back into the sleeping giant and looked up at the stars. The dead of night was his only reprieve now from the nobles here, and their incessant chatter. His legendary wolf curled towards him and let out a yawn.

He was so drained!

Given how little he’d been left alone, he hadn’t even been able to switch back to his true form very much recently. This led to two discoveries. One, he found that his human form did in fact have normal bodily functions including eating, defecating, and arousal. This had been interesting, although not overly surprising. The second discovery however, was incredibly dismaying.

He had found that the buildup in fatigue while human took time to wash away, even if he switched back to his Nebulous form. While his true form was always in top shape, the Coalescence spell would carry over fatigue unless he had been a Nebulous for long enough. And hell, when he did switch that exhaustion hit him like a ton of bricks.

He _had_ to think of a solution to get away from all those puffed-up aristocrats or he was going to scream at someone next time they asked him “ _What’s Scotland like?_ ”. He had made up so many lies, integrated with the truth from Earth, that it was all beginning to get it mixed up in his head.

He almost wanted to cry; he was so sick of these nobles.

Looking down the beat man watched as a giant fuzzy tail swished back and forth for a moment. At least Fenrir was getting well fed. It had its pick of the various animals that roamed the nearby forest, so thankfully the ravenous beast was pretty content. He had been planning on paying hunters to do the job, but Henvidd had insisted that he didn’t pay a cent.

Oddly, despite his outward appearance and irritable way of talking, the man had been remarkably hospitable.

Back to his own issues though, how could he get out of talking to all those damn rich people every day? He knew he’d already made a really good impression on the local nobles, officials, and Henvidd. They were practically drooling over the potential trading partner and ally that Scotland would make, given its huge (totally made up) resources and power. A number of times he had to “go get” a piece of gold or adamantite ingot as proof of his claims, but after a while they just accepted what he told them.

He had also begun to make his distaste for slaves and the Slane Theocracy’s hatred of demi-humans known as well. Some of them took his comments in stride, while others tried their best to ignore his statements, clearly not very happy. Whatever. He had begun to categorize who would be worthy of staying in their positions and who wouldn’t, once he’d taken over.

He needed a good cover story to get back into the general populace and among people that didn’t annoy him every moment he was with them. People that liked to fight, not just talk.

That was it! The Adventurer’s Guild!

The masquerading noble could claim that he wanted to “test the spirit of their people” and “compare the local populace to those of his home”. And he could use his status as a “noble” to bypass that idiotic rule that would make him start as a copper plate.

Oh, thank god.

He made a funny face. Did that mean he was thanking himself? Well it was his idea, so he supposed it did.

“Haha, I’m so funny.” Vörðr shook his head.

He’d integrate himself into the guild and use that to “explore” more of the city and the local countryside. He would also continue spreading the message of “equality” to the humans and secretly to the elves as well. Once he’d introduced himself to a good chunk of the populace and gotten his name well known, BAM! He’d summon Roc, his legendary avian mount!

Oh, this was all coming together so nicely!

The city would see Roc come in like a goddam hurricane and he, the illustrious warrior noble from the north, would “beat” it back with equal fury. That would solidify him as a bona fide hero to the people and slaves alike! Then he could begin the transition of power!

Well… That last bit was a kind of ambiguous still. And if he was honest not very well planned, but he was working on it!

Despite the revolution, Vörðr preferred to minimize the bloodshed as much as possible. That meant he still had to work on how he could get the humans and elves to accept each other. He wasn’t quite sure how that would work, but it was a work in progress.

In other news, the man had noticed that his little spy had recently acquired a few helpers as well. At this point he didn’t feel the need to sneak around, and simply ignored them. All they did was watch him, big deal. What could they do to him?

He had noted the black-and-white-haired woman, Zesshi if he remembered correctly, among their group, and smiled directly at her position a few times to let her know he knew. That had been a funny little mind game.

He wasn’t quite sure what they were waiting for though. He was essentially cozying up to the local government of one of their major cities. He figured they would have acted at some point over the last couple days, but perhaps the beating he had put on the Black Scripture had really spooked them.

But yes, he would become an adventurer and use that as cover to occasionally disappear. He needed time to go talk to Keishara anyways. He had left the poor woman hanging for too long, and felt a twinge of guilt when he thought about it.

Stretching his legs out some more, he snuggled into his wolf. He didn’t have to sleep if he didn’t want to, but Fenrir was just so fuzzy it was hard to resist. He could doze off tonight in his human form.

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“We’ve been given a tip on another production facility for Black Dust. This one is in the initial stages of construction.” Lakyus leaned her elbow on the table.

The Adamantite adventurer group known as the Blue Roses sat around a small oak table. They were currently occupying one of Princess Renner’s, of the Re-Estize Kingdom, many personal quarters. As expected, the room was full of lavish furniture and gorgeous paintings.

In front of them each sat an ornate tea cup filled with the most delicious herbal tea. Most of the women sipped respectfully, although the huge woman known as Gagaran had finished hers in one big gulp earlier.

A delicate voice spoke up first. “Where is this one Lakyus-san? Perhaps you can take them out before they become operational?” Princess Renner skillfully picked up her cup and sipped quietly. Her crystal blue eyes questioning the adventurer group’s leader.

“It’s just inside the border of the Slane Theocracy, south of E-Rantel.” The adventurer returned with a disheartened half-smile.

“Why would we go to the theocracy, fiendish boss?” The short assassin, Tina spoke up, unsure why they cared about something in the theocracy.

“Isn’t it their problem, cruel taskmaster?” Her twin sister Tia included, equally confused.

“Because, any Eight Fingers operation will strengthen their hold on this country, no matter the location!” A short woman in a red cape and mask, Evileye, bit out at them. “Since this one is just being constructed, now is the time to strike. They’ll be weak and unfortified.”

Gagaran nodded solemnly. “If we allow this facility to start up, they will continue to make more money and expand further. We need to crush them where they are.”

“And,” Their leader interjected. “Since it’s outside the borders of Re-Estize, we don’t have to worry about political blowback. They won’t have a leg to stand on, since it’s in the theocracy.”

“I hate the theocracy.” Evileye grumbled. “Bunch of pricks.” Her companions nodded and Gagaran smiled.

“Yes, they are! And one day they’ll get what’s coming to them!” The huge lady raised her cup in a cheer, and then noticed it was completely empty when she raised it to her lips. “Oh.”

Renner smiled and her eyes twinkled. “Let me pour you some more Gagaran-san.”

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The morning came quick for the Nebulous. As soon as the sky began to brighten, he was off racing to the room that Henvidd had given him. He still had an image to maintain, so smelling like giant wolf was not high on his priority list.

After a quick shower and “change” of clothes he marched his way to the central hall of the cathedral. Despite the extravagance that Henvidd displayed, the huge man was surprisingly diligent when it came to his devotions. He also noted that the man was not completely sleazy, surprising enough.

He recalled when one of the nobles had asked if Vörðr wanted a slave girl to “entertain” him during the evenings, and he had almost spat at the man.

The Cardinal must have caught his restrained vitriol, as he simply stated, “As distasteful as some can be, the people are happy. That’s all I can ask for.”

The governor failed to mention the happiness of the slaves themselves, but he had to give the man at least a little bit of credit. At least he wasn’t directly abusing slaves, although enabling wasn’t much better. Perhaps the lack of backbone and empathy could be fixed under the Nebulous’ rule. Time would tell.

Just as he had predicted, when he entered the main worship hall of the cathedral there the governor was, kneeling at the altar of their great gods. Behind the alter were more of the stained-glass windows, these depicting some sort of holy light blessing humanity.

Henvidd began to struggle his way back up to his knees as he heard the noble from the north enter the hall.

“May the gods bless this day Vörðr-dono. I hope you slept well.” The fat man smiled at him, large round teeth gleaming in the colored light.

“I did, thank you.” He inclined his head respectfully on the outside. On the inside though, he was laughing.

Gods, yeah sure.

The research that he had done, by sneaking into this very cathedral under the cover of invisibility, had given him enough information to say with confidence that they weren’t gods at all. He was 99% sure they had just been players that had been to this world before him. And not even strong ones, ha!

“I actually came to ask a request of you, Haman-dono.”

“Of course! What can I do for you, honored guest?” His enthusiasm was palpable, even in the wee hours of the morning. Something that Vörðr would never understand. Even as a being that technically didn’t need sleep, he knew that mornings were for quiet contemplation and relaxing, not shouting at someone.

“I was thinking to myself, what would Scotland want to know about the Slane Theocracy, besides the names of their rulers and their trade goods? And it hit me! My countrymen love a strong ally, one that has a good people with admirable convictions! So, then I thought to myself, how would I find those things out?”

“And how, my dear Scottish friend, will you find the answers you are looking for?” He had clearly piqued the man’s interest.

“Via the illustrious Adventurer’s Guild of course! I’ve heard so much about it from those in your court already. And I’d like to have a look myself. I’d even like to join as an adventurer and get firsthand experience if such a thing is permitted. You do have to know; I grew up swinging a sword more than I did negotiating treaties.” He sent a winning smile Henvidd’s way, hoping his reasoning was convincing enough.

It had better be, or Vörðr the “noble” would disappear shortly and wouldn’t be seen around these parts for a long time.

A modicum of understanding crossed the man’s fleshy face and he nodded in recognition. “Yes of course, of course! That is a splendid idea. I’m sure you’ve gotten bored of my court, given your background.”

Vörðr thanked the stars above and bowed slightly. “Many thanks Haman-dono. Now, with regards to my entry ranking?”

Henvidd nodded his head in comprehension. “Yes, of course, the rankings. I’m sure you’d rather not be clearing out feral rats or hogs for months as a copper plate. What plate do you think you’d be? Surely you have a good gauge of your own strength?”

The pretend noble decided to press his luck. “Well, if you want me to completely honest, I believe that I am Adamantite.” He held his breath as the governor rubbed his chin.

“Yes, absolutely! I will send a missive to the local guild hall’s secretary, Jane! No doubt my good word will take you most of the way, but you might have to finish the last step yourself, if you know what I mean. I do hope you are willing to prove that declaration Vörðr-dono.” His eye seemed to twinkle with hidden mischief. “If you’d like to go explore the city a bit, I’ll get to writing the letter. Expect my orders to be at the guild within the next couple of hours Vörðr-dono.”

“Many thanks Haman-dono.” He really meant it. Whether the large man knew it or not, he had just about saved the Nebulous’ sanity.

Both men departed the hall, one to his office and the other to go explore an already somewhat explored city.

Now though, he could freely show his face. And he could get back to his fun cat and mouse game that he had started with the Black Scripture member. Now with additional players! That should be fun for at least an hour.

And it had been!

Although as he tested the limits of the new observers, he found their skills even more disappointing than the assassin from the scriptures. Even Zesshi seemed to be able to acquire him faster than any of these new guys. Bah, he supposed the others were just second-rate.

Throughout the city he was doing his best to get his name out there now. No more hiding his face or giving vague answers when people asked who he was. He wanted people to know him, and he wanted them to like him! He also made it clear that he treated everyone that was respectful to him deserved respect, including every elf that he met.

While he spent the morning around the shopping districts, later that night he planned on visiting a few bars and buying rounds for the local ruffians.

The pretend noble was on full celebrity meet and greet mode, and that meant including his big companion too. So, he picked up Fenrir and made his way the main city orphanage.

Removing the wolf’s armor and carefully instructing Fenrir to play nice they arrived at the building. He found the little urchins quick to fall in love with his furry friend. He wasn’t sure if the legendary beast enjoyed it or not, based on the huff and glare that it had sent his way as he strolled away, promising to come back later.

One final stop before the guild hall, the Yellow Rabbit. He activated his invisibility a few streets over and navigated to the inn. He found a convenient open window and jumped through. Finding the regular morning customers easy to weave through, he located Keishara washing dishes in the kitchen. Luckily, she was alone for the moment, so he whispered in her ear.

“Hello Keishara-san.”

“My lord!” She gasped in surprise. Whirling around she frantically looked around the room to find it vacant. Her emerald eyes were wide with concern. “Where are you Kami-sama?” She whispered into the air.

“I’m here next to you. You just can’t see me.” He whispered from behind her again, chuckling to himself as she spun again. “And what did I tell you? It’s just Vörðr-san to you. I’m just here to make sure you’re safe for now.”

She nodded slowly. “I’ve been fine Kami-sama.” Clearly, she was ignoring his name in place of what she believed he was.

“And you’ve been telling your kinsmen about me?”

She stood stock still, as if she was being dressed-down. “Yes Kami-sama. Most don’t believe me, but I have whispered your name and promises to all of my people that I could.” He was proud of her initiative and progress.

“Excellent work Keishara-san. You may go back to your dishes while we speak, that way you don’t look so ridiculous talking to yourself.” She nodded and complied. “Do you believe they will follow my orders given some proof of my existence?”

Keishara nodded emphatically. “Yes, my lord. Those that are still skeptical simply do not want to give in to hope. But if you were to show proof to them directly, they will fall at your feet.”

Vörðr had to understand that. A people that had been beaten so low would always have those that didn’t want to risk disappointment. “Now I have news for you. I am in this city once again, posing as a noble. This is so that I may introduce my name and face to the general populace. My goal is not only to liberate your people, but to liberate the hearts and minds of the humans that have been tricked by their religious leaders.

“While I am doing that, I will be giving you supplies to distribute to your people. This equipment will help prove to those skeptical that I mean to help them. But nothing I give to you or others is to be used for anything but defending yourselves when I give the orders. _No one_ is to use these supplies for anything but that explicit purpose. Am I clear?”

“Yes Kami-sama, I swear on my heart.” The woman scrubbed at an individual dish a little harder, as if to prove her convictions to the plate in her hand.

“I want to be absolutely unambiguous Keishara-san, what I am doing is not so that the elves can slaughter the humans and simply reverse the situation. You are all equally precious in my eyes, and I wish to see the children of the earth live united and not bicker with each other. I will be the judge of who is worthy to live or die, not you nor any other elves.”

“Of course, Kami-sama.”

“I’m glad you understand. Now back to the supplies. Do you and others have places to store materials that won’t be found?”

“Yes Kami-sama.”

“Then this is the first gift I will bestow upon you.”

Before her very eyes a metal cuirass and plated skirt appeared out of thin air to lay on the counter next to her. She gasped at the deep blue color. Those were undoubtedly adamantite!

A small sword materialized next to the armor. This one was black and seemed to glint purple in the light.

“These are for you, Keishara-san, and you alone. I will soon be bringing you other items to give to your countrymen. They are to hide everything and stay put. If they do not obey, they will incur not only the wrath of the theocracy and their masters, but of me as well.” He added some pressure to his words for emphasis.

Keishara wanted to cry at the beautiful gifts her god had given her, but held back the tears. “Thank you Kami-sama. You are too generous.”

“My followers deserve the best that I can give them. Now, do you have a place to hide these around here?”

“No, my lord, but if you can hide them while I go out back of the inn, I have a place there.” As she watched the armor and sword disappeared again, as if they were never there to begin with. Truly the feats of a god.

“Lead on.” He instructed.

Almost bounding in happiness, she made her way out back and to a large stack of boxes under an overhang.

“The masters never bother to get supplies, so they never check around here. I can store them in an alcove behind these.” She pointed to a stack to the left, and the armor and weapon appeared once again, this time sitting on one of the nearby boxes.

“I cannot thank you enough my Lord. You are truly my savior.” She bowed deeply.

He laughed in return. “You are more than welcome Keishara-san. I will speak with you again soon. Continue to spread my word.”

She remained bowing for a time, unsure if he was still there. After a full minute she looked up and slowly made her way back in. She had her work to do as a slave still, at least for now. That time was coming to an end soon though.

As the Nebulous made his way to the guild hall, Vörðr mulled over his situation. He had to singlehandedly arm thousands of elves. He had a decent amount of spare armor in his inventory, but nearly enough to arm all of them. So how would he protect his followers?

As he walked through the streets, fully visible again, he heard the sharp ring of a hammer striking an anvil.

Ah, yes of course. Why didn’t he think of it earlier? He was a blacksmith!

Therefore, during his stay he could secretly rent out a forge and create the armor himself. He had plenty of gold, and could melt it down into gold bars to pay the smithy directly and secretly. He also would probably be getting paid handsomely for doing adamantite quests, so that money could supplement his gold as needed.

He would do all of his forging in the dead of night, he would just have to find one that wasn’t in town, or he would risk his operation being found out.

It was just over two hours on the dot before he made his way to the guild hall. The large wooden building stood out from the local architecture, more practical then pretty. As he pushed open the doors, he looked around the room. Instead of complete silence and an empty hall, as he had seen when sneaking in before, now it was lively and reminded him of a military mess hall. Numerous tables and chairs took up most of the space, with various people milling about. Ignoring the stares he received, the well armored paladin made his way to the front desk.

Once he was at his destination, he smiled at the lady.

She was short in stature and likely middle-aged. She bowed. “Stendahl-dono, we’ve been expecting you.” Her voice raspy.

“Just Vörðr-san is fine, I’m not a noble like those you’ve known… Jane-san is it?” He smiled and bowed slightly in return.

“It’s Jennifer. Jennifer Whitesmith.” Her mouth set in a thin line.

Dammit Henvidd! Why couldn’t you remember anyone’s names?! “I apologize Jennifer-san, I was given incorrect information.”

“Well, Vörðr-san,” she moved on, “we’ve been instructed by the Cardinal to grant you an Adamantite plate and access to any quest you desired. Unfortunately, I do not have the authority to full grant his request. The rank of Adamantite requires the approval of the guildmaster. Therefore, Orichalcum is the highest rank I can give you.” She took out a small purple dog tag.

“Big ol’ rich boy. Thinks he can pay ‘is way to the top.” He heard a woman sneer. Clearly the room was listening to his conversation.

“Give him a chance.” He heard a young male voice speak up. “Maybe he really is good!”

“I’m sure it will be exciting either way.” He heard another voice reply, seemingly indifferent.

“Best his armor does more work than he does.” A gruff man called out somewhere behind him.

“What can you expect from someone born with a silver spoon up their ass.” A pair laughed out loud, clearly meant for him to hear.

“I appreciate your help Jennifer-san. Thank you.” The paladin bowed again, then turned to face the room.

Insects. Not worthy to even be in the same room as him!

He mentally shook himself. That train of thought would not help him right now. He needed to endear the people, not lord above them.

He eyed them all. There had to be at least 30 in the hall at this moment. That presented a golden opportunity for him to gain some more notoriety. “So, you think my armor does all the work, eh?” He called out and his golden eyes glaring. “And perhaps my sword is so sharp simply because I’ve never had to use it, right? Well how about we put that to the test? I take on… all of you.” He spread his arms wide and grinned.

“You lot win,” he pointed in their general direction, “I’ll leave that plate where the lady put it. I win,” He jabbed a thumb at himself and paused for effect, a devilish smile broadening. “You all...” He looked at each person in the room, sizing them up. “join me for a drink!”

The room broke into confused chatter. They hadn’t been expecting that. He would let them squabble, but had no doubt that he poked a hole in their collective prides. They couldn’t let that slide.

Sure enough, the woman from earlier shouted back. “I’ll take ye on!” She slammed her fist on the table.

“Yeah, let’s wipe that sneer off his face!” Another called.

“Hell, even if we do lose, we get free drinks.”

“You know he never said he’d pay for them.”

Somehow everyone managed to hear that statement and a deafening silence fell onto the room.

Vörðr rolled his eyes, of course they wanted the drinks to be free. “And I’ll buy all the drinks.”

The previous shouts had been loud before, but now the noise level in the room was thunderous as every man and woman cheered in unison.

“I suppose the prospect of free drinks is a universal constant as well.” Vörðr laughed to himself. Well that wasn’t too bad, and now for the easy part; whooping all their butts.

His eyes picked out the highest-ranking adventurer in the room. A bald man with a scarred face and missing hand. A mithril plate hung around his neck.

“You there,” He pointed a plated finger at the man, who didn’t seem to move a muscle at his call. “Where’s a good place for a brawl around here?”

The warrior raised a missing eyebrow. “There’s a pretty big courtyard near here.” His gravelly voice was barely heard above the din of the hall.

“Perfect! Lead the way warrior-san.” He watched as the man rolled his eyes and got up. Marching his way down the stairs and out the door, the whole room clambered to grab their gear before rushing out to follow the veteran. Vörðr sauntered out as well, grinning at the thought of the beating he was about to dish out.

A minute later and a few blocks away, the armed crowd had gathered at one end of a courtyard. A lone man stood on the other. Large stones made up the square and small trees dotted the exterior. Multi-story residential buildings surrounded the area, appearing like giants gathered to watch the fight.

Vörðr whistled a tune to himself as the group seemed to shout amongst themselves, coming up with some sort of order structure and rudimentary plan.

It sounded like, from what he could tell, most had decided to “rush in and kick his ass”.

“Wow. Real thought was put into that one. Good job guys.” Vörðr thought to himself. He took some time to remove his chest plate and plated pants. That left his midsection entirely exposed save for its chainmail coverings. No one but him knew that every piece of armor he owned was enchanted, but he wasn’t going to spill those beans just yet.

He figured he could make it a little more insulting to his opponents, just for fun.

Once the shouting had died down, he called over, “What would you like to be beat by? My short sword or my Zweihänder?”

His opponents stared at him and silence hung in the air.

“The big one on my back.” He deadpanned.

Of course, Vörðr was met with a few jeers. “What do we care?”

“Yeah! I doubt you can swing either.”

It died down for a moment before a high-pitched voice called out. “I want to see the Suh-via-hander.” The group separated to reveal a small woman in blue mage robes. They all eyed her for a moment.

“Very well, the big sword it is!” He pulled the man-sized sword from his back, and let the short sword and shield rest with the armor he had discarded seconds ago.

Once he was sure the majority of the group was looking at him, he did a few test swings efficiently cutting the air. He even added a spin move and a lethal looking stab for fun.

The group across from him stood motionless, staring at his graceful movements. He grinned like a maniac. “Come on you bunch of pansies! Who wants some?” He felt adrenaline start to surge through him, giving him the now familiar rush as combat approached.

He had yet to fight in anything but his human form, so he didn’t know if he would feel this way when he was in his true form. He hoped he did though, the sensation was incredible!

After the barest of moments, a random warrior with a hammer and shield shouted and the group broke forward in a charge. As the melee fighters ran, he noticed the casters were staying back. Well, at least they weren’t trying to beat him with their magical sticks, that would have been sad.

The group was gaining momentum and a few of the faster ones were getting close. Vörðr began spreading his feet apart, leaning on his, now back, right foot.

20 feet.

15 feet.

10 feet.

NOW!

Catching the group off guard, he sprung forward and brushed past those leading the human stampede. He quickly picked a target at random and swung the flat of his sword to bounce of the man’s metal helm. Noting the tiny dent, he watched the way the man simply continued forward as his eyes rolled back. That was one down for the count.

Spinning to his right he caught another on the back, sending them tumbling.

Finally, the group seemed to realize that their target wasn’t in front anymore and rotated inwards. They even spread out slightly, giving each other space to avoid friendly fire.

Another kudo for them in Vörðr’s book.

Three men on opposite sides stepped forward at once and swung their axes, one high, one middle, one low. They must have been on a team together, because that was impressive coordination. Unfortunately for them, he could go somewhere they hadn’t swung.

He leapt up into a backflip a full seven feet in the air. Not actually impressive by his own standards, but for a normal human to clear his own height in a backflip while wearing armor was insane!

So taken off guard the trio didn’t even react when he landed boot-first on top of one of them. The man crumpled underneath the force and his body smashed to the ground. Jumping off his fallen foe, the red-bearded maniac did a full jumping kick into the chest of a nearby armored woman.

No points for standing around!

An airless scream exited her mouth and she fell back, collapsing on the ground. Not wasting time, he swung a vicious elbow out and broke a man’s nose, sending him down as well. This was just too easy!

Having broken through their line, he had now exposed himself to the casters and noticed a few charging up spells.

“Hydro-shot!”

“Frozen arrow!”

“Gale!”

He grabbed the arm of another unfortunate soul and pulled him over, using his body to block the spells. That was going to sting later!

The meat shield’s luck wasn’t getting any better though, as the tall man took a few running steps and, using just the one arm that he had grabbed him with, _launched_ him into the air. The dazed man soared a full 25 feet before crashing into the casters. Two of them took the full force of the incoming human and buckled under the impact.

Barely seconds later the paladin ducked his head as a spear thrust right where it had been moments ago. In retaliation he kicked his leg out where he knew the person to be, and heard a gruesome snap in reward. The man screamed in agony before falling.

“Oops, a bit too much force on that one.” Vörðr thought to himself as he blocked the swing of a war hammer with his forearm. He grinned at the bewildered woman. Her whole body vibrated as her hammer bounced away.

He simply took his free hand and punched her in the face. They just went down so easily!

He noticed just one more nearby enemy and quickly dispatched the man with the flat of his blade, sending him hurtling sideways.

The paladin looked around. The remaining 20 had backed up and regrouped, showing 6 casters and the remainder being warrior types.

“Did I forget to tell you, I’m a paladin!” He shouted and was met with widened eyes.

“Destructive Wave!” He called and struck the ground with his sword.

“That was only a fifth-tier spell, it shouldn’t do much more than knock them off their feet.” He assured himself.

He was completely wrong, and he got to see all twenty humans go sailing across the courtyard as the massive white wave of energy blasted off of him.

“Oh.” Was his only response.

As the dust cleared, a lone figure stood up slowly. It had been the scarred mithril adventurer from earlier. The man coughed slightly and steadied himself with his axe, pressing the weapon into the ground like a cane.

“What the hell was that? Who in the hell are you?” He called out.

“I didn’t think such a low spell would do this much damage, sorry mate.” The paladin called back.

If a dirtied and bloodied man could look exasperated, this man did it. “You don’t make any sense stranger.” Then he promptly collapsed.

The courtyard was quiet again, save for the occasional groan from the group currently occupying the ground. Vörðr returned the Zweihänder to his back and reattached his other equipment. Completing his task, he looked around at his work.

It hadn’t been much of a challenge, more akin to knocking over toddlers than fighting grown adults with weapons. The most difficult thing had actually been not simply annihilating them.

Such weaklings… but at least they had fire. He couldn’t discount that.

He heard a man gasp loudly in pain, and walked over.

“I think that leg’s broken.” He pointed to the appendage. It was quite obviously bent at an unnatural angle, and he was pretty sure he saw bone sticking out.

“You think?!” The man ground out.

Vörðr knelt down and placed his hands over the leg. “Just a moment.” A small set of magical circles sprung out from his hand and then filled with lines of white light. He then observed the leg bending back into its natural state. “You’re all good.”

“How the hell am I all good? You broke my damn… leg…” The man sat up and tested his knee. “What?” What his intelligent question.

“Healing spell. Easy enough for a paladin like me.”

“Man, there ain’t a spell that I know that could have healed a break like that.” He slowly got up and tested his weight on the repaired leg. “I have no idea what you just did, but… thanks I guess.”

Vörðr grinned broadly and slapped the man on the shoulder, almost sending him back to the ground.

Oops, still too much strength.

“It was my pleasure! For both breaking that leg and healing it back to full!” He cackled to himself as he walked to the next victim.

The next few minutes were more of the same. Vörðr would heal someone, they would be stunned and thank him. After everyone was back on their feet, he looked back at the mithril adventurer.

“So would you say that I won the bet, fair and square?”

There were some grumblings, but he ignored them for the senior member. “Without a doubt.” The man nodded.

“Fantastic. Now for those drinks tonight-”

“Wait, we don’t get them now?” A woman whined.

“No, I have things to do and a wolf to rescue from the clutches of evil children. So where is the best place to go for a drink?”

That got a reaction. Apparently the “best place to get a drink” was a hotly contested fact. Many shouted over each other and butted heads over their preferred choices.

He let them argue for a time before there appeared to be a growing consensus.

“I’m hearing plenty of calls for, and I cannot believe I’m going to say this, ‘The Dirty Whore’. Is that correct?”

A chorus of cheers and a few boo’s met his ears.

“Perfect. Now where is this place?”

The mithril adventurer pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “It’s just down the road here, a few blocks away from the guild hall.”

“Great, I will see you all there at 6pm. Drinks are on me.” He turned to lead the way back to the guild hall, with his profoundly beaten sparring partners behind him.

As he walked, the caster that had requested that he use his Zweihänder ran up.

“That was amazing!” She practically swooned. “You thumped us all without breaking a sweat! And you healed us all back up!”

He looked over and caught her short black hair and simple sky-blue mage robe. A silver plate hung around her neck. He smiled, “Well I didn’t include broken noses and legs in the terms of the bet, so I figured it was the least I could do.”

She bounced as she walked. “I’m Hanupha Bursk! But you can call me Hana.” She beamed at him with youthful energy.

“Hello Hana-san. My name is Vörðr Stendahl.” He replied. He turned and open the guild hall doors, stepping aside to let her in before letting the next man grab it.

“So Stendahl-san, where are you from? I’ve never even heard your last name before!”

“I’m a visiting noble envoy from Scotland, it’s a region up north.” She followed him up to the desk as he grabbed his new plate and hung it around his neck.

“Wow that’s so neat! What’s Scotland like?” She peered up to him with big innocent brown eyes.

“…”

He wanted to scream.


	5. Fated Encounter

**Chapter 5: Fated Encounter**

**AN: Minor AU note:**

**Keno Fasris Invern (AKA Evileye) is stated to have the body of a 12-year-old. Based on how she’s drawn in the anime and manga (and for my own sanity) I’m going to say she was 20 when she turned into a vampire. I’ve known plenty of women of short stature that just look young, so that’s how I view her looks.**

**Also, it’s stated that she cannot have children, or at least believes she cannot. I would beg to differ as those of Nazarick don’t doubt it when Shalltear says she wants to have Ainz’s offspring. Maybe they know some magic mumbo jumbo for it or something, but my point stands. Nothing of that nature will be happening anytime soon however.**

⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎

Vörðr looked up at the hanging wooden sign.

The words “The Dirty Whore” were embossed in deep gold letters across it. He let his eyes roam over the building. It was made of wood, like most of the middle-to-lower class buildings in the city, but the front of this one had been painted a white. Or at least, it had probably been white at one time. Now the paint was covered in a fine layer of dirt and dust and looked more like grey.

He had changed out of his plate armor for more formal attire. The quest that he had completed in Yggdrasil had opened up a new merchant for him to buy things from, all sharing the theme that his armor had. He had bought it all, as it looked really cool in his opinion, and wasn’t particularly expensive. Now he could truly put those purchases to use!

He still kept his enchanted under armor, as despite the weakness of this world’s inhabitants, he still felt vulnerable without any armor. On top though, he wore a green and blue kilt and matching sash. The sash hung from his right shoulder and wrapped around just above his left hip. The excess spilled over the side of his shoulder, covering part of his right arm. Under the sash was a loose white dress shirt and brown belt. The buckle of the belt had the same wolf insignia on it, as did a ring that he wore on his right hand. To complete the look, he wore a pair of leather boots and his short sword on his hip.

Vörðr walked up to the simple wooden door and pulled it open with a heave. Inside he spotted a large central room with plenty of tables and a huge bar lining the left wall. The place was mostly empty save for a few men scattered about the tables, a lone bartender cleaning a glass, and one server wiping a table down. The interior was primarily constructed of wood as well, making most of the room appear a deep brown. Covering a good percentage of the walls were scraps of parchment, each piece crudely nailed into the surface.

Vörðr approached a wall to his left and made to read it some of the writing. The server must have noticed, as she began walking over.

“Most of our patrons are adventurers, you see. Many will keep the original parchment from their first quest or perhaps a job that they’re proud of accomplishing. It’s become a tradition to come here and nail that paper to our walls.” She spoke next to him, her eyes roaming over the wall.

“How interesting.” He replied.

“At first the owner wasn’t very happy. But the tradition became well known and drove business, so he’s come around.” She smiled at him and he turned to face her. “Welcome to The Dirty Whore sire.” She bowed. “Are you looking for a drink or a meal?”

“I’m a bit early, but I’m here to pay for some drinks. I won a bet, you see.” He bowed in return.

She gave him a confused look. “Don’t those that win bets normally get their drinks paid for, not the other way around?”

“Yes, normally,” he chuckled. “But this was a bit of a unique bet. Anyways, I just came early to check the place out before everyone else does. I would like a drink now though and I’ll be opening a tab under my name, Vörðr Stendahl. Now that I think about it…” He put his hand under his chin. “I’m a visiting noble, and have none of the currency that you use around here. I believe I will have to exchange it in order to pay you. Would it be possible to pay the tab tomorrow?”

She pursed her lips. “Uh, I’m not sure Stendahl-san. Let me go as the owner.” She walked up to the bartender and Vörðr followed close behind. “Maste-san, Stendahl-san here is asking if he can create a tab for a gathering he’s having tonight.”

Maste was a rough looking man. One eye had been lost in a fight long ago, from the looks of it, and he had short grey hair. The man looked up at him. “Ah, Stendahl-san. I am Vin Maste, the owner of The Dirty Whore. I’ve heard your name a few times. You’re that fancy noble from up north, yeah?” His tone was gruff.

“You are correct Maste-san.” Vörðr bowed. “I just realized that I don’t have any of the local currency, so I will need to exchange it. Would it be possible to pay a tab tomorrow?”

“Hmm,” The man rubbed his scruffy chin. “I suppose that’s ok. If I hav’ to I’ll just go put a complaint in to the governor that his guest ain’t payin’ what’s owed.”

“You have my thanks Maste-san.”

“Yeah, yeah.” The man waved a thick hand. “Now you want a drink while you wait? We have the finest brews th’ side of the country.” He reached up to the spicket of one of the barrels propped up on the bar against the wall. Glass in hand, he poured until the mug was about half full before turning around and handing it off. “That there is our newest addition. Comes from a friend of mine a little west of ‘ere.”

Vörðr leaned his head back and took in a big mouthful. He swallowed and nodded in appreciation. “Very good Maste-san.”

“You bet your ass ih’ is!” The man grinned at him, showing a few missing teeth.

Vörðr grabbed a nearby stool and set himself down at the bar. “So Maste-san, I have to ask. Where did you come up with the name of your pub?” He sipped his drink.

The owner gave him a grin. “The name comes from a quest durin’ my younger years as an adventurer. We’d been tasked with taking down a local enclave o’ trolls that had infested the south’n forests. Once we cleared out most of their cave, we cornered th’r leader.” The man’s one eye was glazed slightly, lost in the memory. Then he swung an arm in the air as if to chop down an imaginary foe. “I had embedded me axe into its shoulder and it cried out, ‘Yer a dirty whore!’” The old man laughed to himself. “We’d been so surprised that the troll had even known such a word… The name stuck. My buddies had started calling me a ‘dirty whore’ on missions and the like. After I retired, I figured I’d name me business after it, in honor o’ my fallen friends.”

“So you’re the dirty whore then?” Vin nodded and Vörðr chuckled, then raised his glass. “To the dirty whore and his comrades.”

“Aye Stendahl-san.” Vin nodded in return.

Vörðr sat conversing with Vin and the server as the hour passed. Eventually he heard the first few people enter.

“See? I told you he’d be here!” A high-pitch voice called in triumph behind him. It sounded like the girl from earlier, Hana. “Stendahl-san!”

He turned his head and spotted a group of 4 making their way towards him. Hana, skipping over in her blue robe, was leading the troupe. Behind her was another woman, this one wearing leathers and an eyepatch, and two stout men that had to be twins. Vörðr waved his mug at them.

“Been waiting on you lot. Was beginning to think no one would show!” He laughed and set his mug back down. Hana grabbed the stool to his left and sidled up to him. The other three sat to her left.

“A few people didn’t think you’d honor your word, but I knew you would!” She beamed at him.

“Of course!” He smiled at her, “Now order whatever you want, I’ve already worked out a tab with Maste-san.” He waved over the owner/bartender.

“Wow, you look really good Stendahl-san! I love your outfit.” The young girl complimented.

“Thank you Hana-san, it’s formal attire where I’m from.” He lied easily.

“Pint of Werebeast for me.” The twin males spoke in unison.

“Glass of Winter Whiskey please.” The woman with the eyepatch requested.

“And I’ll have whatever Stendahl-san is having!” Still full of energy, Hana smiled and waved at the bartender.

“I don’t remember your three companions at our little scuffle earlier.” He eyed the group and took a gulp of his drink.

“That’s ‘cause they weren’t! I had just been by to collect some money from our last job and see if anything new was on the board when you came in. I hope you don’t mind!”

Vörðr shook his head. “Not at all. The more the merrier.”

The woman to Hana’s left spoke up. “So Hana tells me you beat the daylights out of 30 adventurer’s all on your own, Stendahl-san.” She gave him an appraising look. “And that you did it half-naked and with one arm tied behind your back.”

He choked on his drink. “I was not half-naked and both of my hands were free. But I did indeed win a fight.” He nodded in her direction once he’d cleaned the beer out of his beard.

“And healed us all up too!” Hana butted in, smiling at the woman. “He was amazing!”

“Yes, you won’t shut up about it.” The woman rolled her one eye and Hana’s smile just widened in response.

Vörðr eyed the spunky girl. She was probably late teens, with a short black bob. She was cute, and clearly had more than enough energy for herself and her whole squad. He liked her, if only because her personality was a change of pace from the usual gruff and tough adventurer that he’d encountered so far.

As they spoke and traded introductions, more people came in. Most approached him and introduced themselves, and he recalled many from their spar. Some were curt and got straight to drinking, and others were respectful and thanked him for paying. The one-handed, mithril adventurer even came in at some point with his three-man squad.

They exchanged a firm handshake. “Thank you, Stendahl-san. You showed an old-guy like me that there is still so much to learn about the world.”

“My pleasure.” Vörðr grinned at the man.

The night wore on and the pub filled with more and more people.

“There’s no way all of these people were at the fight. I don’t even recognize most of them.” Vörðr thought to himself. His thoughts got interrupted as a group approached him.

“You sir!” An already inebriated man pointed a finger at him. “Kicked the ever-living shit out of us!” Vörðr recognized him as the man that had his leg broken. He swayed briefly before regaining his balance. “What have you… What… How’d you learn to do that?!” He finally finished his train of thought.

Vörðr took a gulp of his 14th beer. He was feeling somewhat intoxicated at this point, but not nearly as much as he would have thought he should be. “So what, you want a story or something?”

“Yesssss!” A clearly tipsy Hana cheered next to him. “Let’s hear all about your crazy adventures-hic” She paused to catch her burp. “In Scotland!” The group around him cheered and raised their glasses.

“Ok then…” He rubbed his chin and considered what to tell. He had plenty of exploits in Yggdrasil that he could pass off as real events. Considering he was now no longer human, but his Yggdrasil avatar, he supposed that in some sense those events were real.

His mind recalled an end-game raid that he had been corralled into by one of his friend’s friends. It had been a 40-man slog through a fortress city known as Útgarðar. That had to be the single-most hectic day of his Yggdrasil career. By the end of that raid, almost every single person was skating by on their last health and mana points. The raid almost completely wiped at one point, and it was only through the actions of a few of the priests and paladins, himself included, that they had resurrected quick enough to continue on. Yes, he would spin them a tale of Útgarðar.

“Let me tell you about the city of giants, and how I conquered it!” And so he began.

He told them the backstory of that raid; how those giants had been stealing citizens from the nearby human city and using them as livestock. He described the various people that had participated in that raid, ranging from humans and elves, to other crazier heteromorphic races, and he spoke of each of them in high regards. He weaved through the tale, telling everyone how they had nearly all been killed at the hands of the great dragon Orönh, Bringer of Death. How his group killed the triplets Eimgeitir, Herkir, and Verr. He finished the tale by regaling them with the treasures that his group had found. Countless pieces of gold and enchanted armor had been distributed to the raiders. That raid had even been where he acquired his cherished war hammer, The Eye of Odin, the prize of the God-giant Mímir.

When he completed his story, he looked around at those that had surrounded him. Somehow throughout his telling, most of the pub as well as the owner and a few of the servers, had gathered to listen. Silence reigned once he finished his tale and took a deep swig of his beer.

“Woooooooow!” Hana fell over onto him and grabbed his arm for support. “You’re even more ama… amazing than I thought Vörðr!” She hiccupped and giggled.

“Holy shit.” Another patron uttered.

“Truly impressive, Stendahl-san.” The bald mithril adventurer, Liam Morningsteel, remarked.

Then, a random man decided to raise his glass a shout. “To Stendahl-san! The slayer of giants and dragons!”

“And provider of free drinks!” Another shouted.

A cheer rose up from the crowd and everyone raised their glasses. After drinking, the normal din of the bar began again as the people dispersed back into their chosen groups. Vörðr turned back to the bar and got another beer.

A few drinks later, Vörðr looked over to see an elf server being harassed by a group he hadn’t seen earlier. He frowned. Take advantage of his generosity and harass someone while he was around? Not going to happen.

The paladin slammed his mug onto the bar top and marched over.

Once he was standing next to the table with his arms crossed, the group took notice of him.

“Ah, you must be the fancy rich man paying for our drinks!” A black-haired man with a mohawk laughed with those sitting at the table. “It’s not often that we get someone else paying to get us drunk, eh boys?” The table raised their glasses and cheered.

“Perhaps,” Vörðr glared at him. “But not if you’re giving the lovely woman serving you trouble.”

The man looked at him. “Eh? The elf bitch? Who gives a shit?” He shrugged and took a huge gulp of his drink.

“I care.” Vörðr leaned in towards the man and noticed a platinum plate hanging around the man’s neck.

“Buzz off man.” The man leaned away. “I don’t give a damn what you think.” He waved as if to shoo Vörðr away.

“Not until you apologize to the server.” Vörðr stood tall and eyed each of the men. There were 5 in total, with all but one carrying platinum plates.

“Oh?” The ringleader stood up and faced him. “And what are you going to do if we don’t?” The man eyed his orichalcum plate. “I don’t even believe what the others have said about you.” A finger poked Vörðr in the chest “I bet you just paid everyone off, like all you rich people do.” The rest of the table stood up.

Vörðr grinned at the man before throwing his head forward in a viscous headbutt. The man toppled backwards onto the table, spilling the drinks on it. The crash brought the attention of the rest of the pub, and other conversations quickly died down as everyone turned to watch the fight.

The rest of the man’s group sprung into action, defending their leader. Unfortunately for them they had no idea who they were dealing with. Vörðr grabbed a fist headed for him and squeezed hard, crunching fingers. He ignored the shouts of pain and pulled the man closer and picked him up with one arm. He took the man and used him as an unwilling mallet the pummel one of his comrades into the floor.

With three of the five down for the count, the last two didn’t look very sure of themselves. Vörðr vaulted over the table and kicked one in the chest. The last one had begun to turn to run, but stopped short as the back of his shirt was held in an iron grip. Vörðr pulled the man back and simultaneously kicked the back of his knee. The man kneeled involuntarily and Vörðr proceeded to elbow the back of his head, sending him crashing down onto the floor.

The pub was silent once the fight finished, with Vörðr glaring at the fallen troublemakers. He then heard a groan and looked over to the leader, laying on the table clutching his head. Vörðr made his way around the table and looked around the pub. He found the elven woman that they’d been harassing earlier.

“You!” He jabbed a finger at the woman, his rage evident. “Come over here.” The woman complied quickly, not wanting to risk his wrath.

Once she was close, he reached down and grabbed the vest of the man on the table. The leader was still conscious and no doubt dealing with a terrible headache.

Vörðr held the man aloft. “Apologize to her.” He ground out.

“Man…” the leader rubbed his head slowly. “Screw you.”

“Not the right thing to say.” Vörðr smashed him down on the thick wooden table. Not very hard, but given the concussion he was already experiencing, it was no doubt painful.

“Agh,” he cried out. “Fine.” He closed one eye in pain and squinted at the elf. “Sorry.” He spat out.

Vörðr leaned him backward a little, as if to have him reacquaint with the table again. “Not good enough, you piece of trash.”

“Agh! Ok, ok… I’m sorry for causing ye’ trouble, Lyn.” His one working eye looked back at Vörðr. “Good enough?”

“Yes.” Vörðr dropped the man and watched him crumple to the ground. Then he turned to the rest of the watching humans. “Anyone else have a problem with Lyn-san?” He glared out at them, daring someone to speak up. Once he was sure no one would, he walked back over to his bar stool and sat back down in a huff.

The noise picked back up slowly, and everyone went back to their drinking.

A few minutes later, Vörðr waved at Vin. “Another drink for me please.”

Vin walked over and shook his head. “You’ve cleaned me out Stendahl. I’m almost out of every drink that I have.”

Hana turned dramatically and gaped at him. “Noooooooo! You can’t be out!”

Her cry of horror caught the attention of nearby patrons, and the message spread quickly. The bar quieted down and a somber atmosphere took over.

Then a man on the other end of the bar shouted, “Let’s go to the Horse’s Head!” His proclamation was followed by shouts of approval.

As the group piled out of the bar, Vörðr turned back to Vin. “I owe you lots of money. You’re still ok if I pay my tab sometime tomorrow?” Vin simply nodded in return.

The unruly bunch moved as a great herd of drunk humans to the Horse’s Head and continued the festivities. Along the way they had picked up even more people it seemed, because somewhere around midnight Vörðr was sure at least 150 people were packed into the bar and spilling out into the streets.

Vörðr had decided to stop paying for drinks at this point, not that anyone seemed to notice. The night continued on, and Vörðr chatted with more than a few adventurers. Most grew fond of him quickly, enjoying his tales or just his friendly demeanor. Vörðr enjoyed the rest of his night, drinking away the day’s events.

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It had been a little over a week and a half since Vörðr had started his adventuring and he was pleased with the results so far.

His brawl and subsequent drinking with the adventurers in the hall had gotten his name better known through their ranks, and he had definitely earned the respect of many of them.

He had also spent plenty of time wandering around the city interacting with as much of the populace as possible in the daylight, while distributing equipment to Keishara and her trusted friends under the cover of night.

He’d been lucky to find a blacksmith a little way outside of Ylinford that was willing to lend him the forge during the nights. Using some of his other gear, he created a disguise for himself and always made sure to turn invisible before traveling to or from the area. He had absolutely no desire for the theocracy to catch on to his true plans.

None of the local currency was tracked or marked with serial numbers like on earth, so he had no problem paying in his adventuring revenue. Utilizing some knowledge that he’d gained from exploring the city secretly, the Nebulous found 5 separate suppliers of mithril and the occasional orichalcum ingot. Using those ingots and his blacksmithing skills, he was producing a huge amount of simple plate leggings and chest pieces along with short swords. They weren’t his finest work, but they were easy to make and would work just fine for the elves.

Back to his adventuring, it had been an overall positive experience. Besides the two times he got tricked into spending an entire day just hanging out with a noble that fancied him, he had gotten to explore the surrounding area and interact with plenty of people. Thanks to his new freedom, he found plenty of time to release his human form, so he was no longer exhausted from all of the interactions.

He always made sure to put his best foot forward, and leave lasting impressions on everyone he met.

Overall, the quests had all been child’s play for him, with killing an uprising of undead from a necromancer’s hollow being the most difficult. And by difficult he meant tedious.

He had taken the job with another group, since the town that requested it was not satisfied with just one man for his request. Apparently there was an evil necromancer bent on overwhelming the world with undead up near the mountains. It was safe to say the caster was bigger than his britches, and his undead were a pitiful charade of shambling corpses.

Or at least they were for Vörðr.

The unfortunate group that had come with him were constantly on the verge of being killed, and the paladin had to come to their rescue more times than he cared to count.

Once he had finely waded through the swath of mindless undead and he had made it to the necromancer. For a minute he had tried to reason with the man, hoping that seeing someone that could literally walk through his creations like a field of wheat would cause him to surrender. But alas, the newly minted adventurer was forced to kill the lunatic. After that, it had been an easy mop up and trek back to the city to collect their rewards.

The group that he had went with practically had stars in their eyes when he saw them talking to other adventurers.

At the present, he had been called to the central cathedral to speak with Henvidd directly about something of “utmost importance”. He strode with purpose along the cobbled streets of Ylinford. Waving at people as he went, he was happy to see some of them seemed to recognize him and waved back or called out his name.

Once inside the cathedral, he turned right and began down a decorated hallway, he beheld the stained-glass windows on his right. Intricate depictions of heavenly light or conquering humans were everywhere. Clearly, they had a theme here.

Once he reached Henvidd’s office, he knocked and opened once he heard the man call out.

“Oh Vörðr-dono! A pleasure to see you as always!” The huge man inclined his head from where he was sitting, behind an ornate wooden desk.

This man perplexed the Nebulous as well. On the one hand, he had a seriously grating voice and permitted some true atrocities when it came to the elven population within his city. He did also have the weirdest habit of misremembering random people’s names. Although he never mispronounced Vörðr’s name, which probably meant he was really trying to make a good impression on the “foreign noble”. On the other hand, from what Vörðr could tell, the man never went out of his way to make someone else’s life worse, and seemed to care for the poor and downtrodden humans at least. And he had been extremely helpful to the paladin, Vörðr’s immediate high rank in the Adventurer’s guild being chief among his deeds.

Vörðr bowed slightly upon entering. “You requested me personally, Haman-dono?”

“Yes! I have something of the utmost importance that I need taken care of quickly and efficiently. I’ve read client reports from the missions you take. You sir are a one-man army they say.” He shuffled some papers around and found the one he was looking for. He pushed it towards the paladin. “Do you know what Black Dust is?”

As he stepped forward to take the paper, he shook his head. “Nope.”

“Black Dust is a terrible drug. I’ve been told that if you dissolve it in water and drink you feel above the very heavens themselves. But the withdraws are slow but brutal over time.” For one of the few times he’d ever known Henvidd, the man’s face portrayed no joy. “This drug is a terrible atrocity, and up until now we’d remained relatively clean of the stuff here in our beautiful Theocracy. But I just received word from a member of one of our great Scriptures that a production facility has been set up within our borders.”

“And you want the facility taken care of before they can flood your streets with the dust, I take it.” Vörðr scanned the page. It contained a basic map of the rough location of the facility, as well as some other basic information.

“Precisely. I cannot have that horrible drug infecting my lovely citizens. I know I’ve already appealed to your sense of justice, but I also want to draw your attention to the bottom of the page.”

Vörðr moved his eyes to that location and raised his eyebrows. That was quite the sum. Based on the missions he had been doing so far, it equaled at least 15 “high level” missions combined.

“This is that important to you, Haman-dono?”

“Yes! Of course!” Henvidd leaned back in his chair and a smile returned to his face. “And I wanted to give you some extra, since the people have been so happy since you’ve arrived. You and that big pup of yours have breathed fresh life into my city! And I’ve noticed the slaves seem to be happier as well! You are truly a walking testament to the joy that the gods bring.”

The paladin bowed. “Thank you Haman-dono. By your leave then, I will go prepare for this mission.” Clearly the man didn’t know the elves were happier because they’d all be free within the coming months, but he wasn’t letting that cat out of the bag just yet.

“Actually, before you go. How much longer are you planning on staying here in my lovely city? No doubt you wish to travel to our capital?” The man’s blue eyes looked at him curiously.

Vörðr made a show of rubbing his chin. “Yes you are correct. When I was sent off to arrive here, my people didn’t expect me back for at least a month or more. It’s been almost two weeks so far, so perhaps another week.” That was more than enough time to finish setting up the slaves with gear and get Roc out and into the world.

The rotund man nodded in understanding. “A week it is then! Hopefully we’ve made a good impression on you? I know you’ve made quite the impression on us!” A smile had finally found its way back onto his chubby face.

“Yes, I think so. Your city has been most welcoming. Although you already know how barbaric I and my people consider your backwards thinking when it comes to demi-humans.” He had been here long enough that he felt fine just calling it like it was.

Surprisingly the man nodded his head. “It’s not ideal, I agree. But you must know that the humans in this area were about to go extinct from the demi-humans over six hundred years ago. Those scars don’t heal easily.”

Vörðr disagreed. “Six hundred years is more than enough time for wounds to heal, Haman-dono. I hope your people will see change soon.” He bowed again and began walking out.

“Have a blessed trip Vörðr-dono. Thank you for helping me out with this.”

“Of course, Haman-dono.” He raised his hand above his shoulder, waving as he exited.

A Black Dust production facility, how interesting. And it looked like this would take him further north, close to the Re-Estize kingdom. An area he had yet to explore. This would be good, and net him a healthy sum of money.

Once he exited the cathedral, he pulled the rose-colored whistle out of his inventory. He had figured out that no matter where Fenrir was, he could hear the call of his whistle and would always come running.

For a second, Vörðr mentally found a white and black wand in his inventory. Oh, how he wanted to use that wand right now and witness the arrival of his favorite mount, but it would have to wait. He took a breath and blew into the whistle.

Within moments he heard startled shouts and began to feel the ground shaking.

Totally disregarding all else, his furry companion came bounding up the road. He deftly jumped over a carriage and landed with grace just in front of his master.

“Hey Fen! We’re going to go fight some bad guys!” He jumped up onto the saddle and the wolf took off.

This was another thing that had surprised him. Somehow Fenrir almost always knew where Vörðr wanted to go or what he wanted to do. He wasn’t sure if he had some sort of telepathic link with the wolf, or it was much smarter than it let on, but either way he really appreciated it. Already the beast was heading north through the city and blew past the gate guards at nearly top speed.

He could almost feel the frustration of the spies that had been following him, as there was no way they would catch his mount.

That reminded him, “Hey Fen, can you weave a bit to throw our followers off?”

His wolf barked in reply.

Given how far away this place was, it would Fenrir about two hours to get him there. Meaning it would be early evening when he arrived. That would work fine with him. He would just go invisible and traipse around the place, finding all there was to find. Then the cover of night would give him the optimal conditions to lay the smack down.

He was content to watch the scenery blur by and daydream.

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Vörðr spotted the set of slate-grey buildings hidden amongst a dense bit of forest and a few hills. It was far enough off the main road that unless you were looking for it, there was a small chance you would find it. He nodded his head in appreciation, this was the perfect place for some illegal drug making. He patted Fenrir.

“Thanks for taking me all the way here buddy, now you have to wait while I go scout ahead.” One of his favorite ways to scout had always been what he called “The SR-71”. He would go invisible and fly up above his target. Completely unseen and with the best possible vantage point, he could observe just about everything in a given area. Things that wouldn’t be obvious when on the ground became clear as day when looking down from high in the sky.

Once he was sufficiently elevated, he began to fly around and observe his target. He noted three closely packed buildings surrounded by forestry. Two of the three buildings were completed on the outside. A rudimentary fence was still being built. He noted a steady stream of workers constructing everything, with a few task masters driving them on with whips.

How unsavory.

The way the masters seemed to take pleasure on making the workers cry out immediately put them in the “not worth saving” bin in the Nebulous’ mind. Soon he was forming a plan on how to demolish this place with the smallest number of casualties. He looked up to survey the surrounding area and spotted something interesting.

A small group of 5 women seemed to be slinking along the ground, headed straight for the facility. He spotted some horses tied up about half a mile behind them.

Hm. Reinforcements for the production plant?

No that wouldn’t account for why they tied up their horses so far away. They would have just ridden right up.

Which means that this group was here for the same reason he was. But they were coming from the north, not the south like he had been. Clearly they were not coming from Ylinford, or likely any theocracy city.

How interesting.

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“We’re almost there, fiendish boss.” Tina spoke up as they dashed through the undergrowth. “I can see the tips of the buildings.”

The group curved to the left, running parallel to the base, just out of sight.

“We need to find a vantage point.” Lakyus instructed.

Evileye pointed to a small cluster of hills just to the left of them. “Those hills are close to the facility, and the trees will supply you all with cover.” She adjusted course and activated her invisibility.

The ran up, maintaining their distance from the buildings until they were hidden by the hills, then ran directly up them and stopped at the top. Peering out from behind the trees, the group observed the area.

“It looks like our information was correct. They’re still building.” Gagaran squinted down at the workers carrying around building materials.

“What should we do about those workers, evil boss?” Tia asked quietly.

Lakyus frowned, those looked like innocents to her. “We need to avoid killing them or getting them killed. They definitely look like unwilling participants.” Just as she said that, another whip crack rang out followed by the screams of a man. Her frown deepened.

“I’d say you’re correct.”

Every woman whirled around at once to see a tall man in full plate armor smiling at them.

They’d been found out!

Not wasting any time, Gagaran charged forward, swinging her war pick. Tia and Tina threw a couple of knives towards his eyes, while Evileye materialized and sent a number of Magic Arrows at him. Lakyus followed up from the side as Gagaran swung down, bring her own weapon to bare.

Quicker than they could see, he had knocked away both daggers. The Magic Arrows simply disappeared into him, seemingly harmless. He then reached up and _grabbed_ the war pick by the head, stopping it mid-swing with his left hand, and blocked Lakyus’ Kilineiram with his right forearm. The magic sword nicked his armor, but didn’t cut any deeper.

He laughed for a moment. “Hey now, how’s that a way to greet a fellow adventurer?” He flashed white teeth at them, still holding Gagaran’s immense strength back with one hand, and the deadly cutting power of the Kilineiram with his other arm.

Regrouping, the women all backed away, keeping their weapons at the ready. They didn’t trust this man at all. How had he found them, just as they were approaching an Eight Fingers facility?

Evileye figured she could catch him by surprise, and activated her cloak of invisibility. She began to fly, attempting to get a better vantage point.

She noted his eyes appeared to be following her, and his smile grew wider!

“I can still see you.” He pointed directly at her! “Yeah, you with the red cloak. You can come out, there’s no point in that.”

How the hell did he see her? Was he just bluffing? She flew to the left away from her group, and his eyes stayed glue to her. He could definitely see her.

Deciding against wasting more mana on a pointless spell, she released her spells and floated back towards the group.

“Who are you?” Lakyus demanded quietly. She still didn’t want to draw attention from the facility behind her.

“At the moment? Let’s just say I’m a friend with a common goal.” He bowed deeply with one arm across his midpoint and the other at his back.

Evileye glared at him through her mask. “How can we trust you at all? You could just as likely be working for the Eight Fingers! You could lead us into a trap!”

At that, he stroked his cropped red beard in apparent thought. “Well, that could be the case. But then why would I have given myself away? Clearly none of you knew I was here until I spoke up. I could have just as easily stabbed you in the back as say hello.” He patted his side, a short sword clanking against his armor.

How the hell had he been so quiet in full plate armor? It made no sense. He should be just as loud as Gagaran, but she hadn’t heard anything!

Gagaran was the first the break the silence. “Ha!” She barked out quiet laugh. “You’re right stranger.”

Evileye snapped her head to look at the huge woman, how could she so quickly trust this guy?!

“I believe him as well.” Lakyus agreed and sheathed her weapon.

“Very well, evil boss.” Tina nodded once.

“As you say, heartless leader.” Tia bobbed her head and relaxed.

Evileye couldn’t believe them! This man shows up unannounced, blocks a few strikes, says he’s on their side, and they believe him just like that?!

Lakyus turned to look at her. “Evileye?”

She sputtered for a moment, her arms flailing in attempt to form a verbal rebuttal. Then she simply hung her head. “I guess so, Lakyus-san.”

The man swung his arms in victory. “Fantastic! One quick question though.” He got a serious look in his eye. They waited with baited breath at what he would ask.

Evileye guessed it would be some misogynistic remark about how they’re all women. She rolled her eyes in preparation.

“Why are you all blonde? Are you all related?”

Evileye practically fellow over in surprise. What kind of question was that?!

Speaking of looks, she now got a chance to process what he looked like. He was incredibly tall, standing above Gagaran’s 6ft form. He wore a dark grey suit of armor that had blue and green cloth wrapped around his midsection. None of that armor could be cheap, but she’d also never seen any that looked like it before, odd. A huge sword hung off his back and a shorter sword was located on his hip. He appeared to have a shield of some sort as well, but she couldn’t see it from where she was standing.

She couldn’t see a helmet either, just his dumb head and long red hair and beard. His skin was much too pale to be a native of this region, she figured. Looking over his face, she noted golden eyes, another unique feature.

They seemed to flicker with hidden mischief, it put her on edge.

His face was sort of handsome though… But that didn’t matter! She didn’t like him just showing up, startling all of them, and then just standing there looking superior.

Bah, stupid man.

Gagaran chuckled again. “No stranger, we’re not related.” She jabbed a thumb towards Tia and Tina. “Besides the twins. I think it’s just a coincidence. Blonde hair is just more common in the Re-Estize Kingdom.” She grinned at the man. He simply shrugged at her answer. “So, what’s your name stranger?”

“Vörðr Stendahl. A pleasure to meet you...” He reached out a hand towards Gagaran and they shook.

“Gagaran.” She pulled back her hand and squeezed it as if to test it. “You’ve got quite the grip Stendahl-san.”

“Thank you, Gagaran-san. And what shall I call the rest of you?” He looked at the rest of them, scanning the group.

“Tina.”

“Tia.”

Then his golden eyes landed on her. He peered into her mask, and she felt like he could see her eyes through it. She took a step back. “Evileye.” She responded and turned back towards the facility.

“I am Lakyus Aindra.” Lakyus bowed lightly. “We are the Adamantite Adventurers known as the Blue Roses.”

“Now can we get on with this?” The masked woman nearly spat out. She didn’t appreciate the intruder, but he’d shaken hands with Gagaran, and that meant the huge woman had already considered him a friend.

Sometimes Gagaran’s friendliness really irritated her.

“Indeed.” Vörðr agreed. “I will follow your lead, as the senior adventurers. Also, if I’m being honest, I’m just curious how people of the Re-Estize Kingdom fight.”

Lakyus cocked her head. “How have you never worked with any other adventurers from the Re-Estize Kingdom?” She eyed the orichalcum plate hanging off his neck. Clearly, he’d been an adventurer for a while if he had reached that rank. He had to have traveled to their home or at least met some adventurers that had come from there.

“I’m pretty new to the area actually. And I just joined the guild… about a week and a half ago.” He shrugged as if that fact was normal and uninteresting.

He had to be joking, the vampire thought to herself. There’s no way he achieved orichalcum in a week. That just doesn’t happen.

Everyone else seemed to take it in stride. Lakyus scanned the area. “Before we get started, Stendahl-san, did you see anything about this facility that we can’t see from here?”

He nodded. “There’s three buildings total, with that final one in front of us the only one under construction still. There are about 70 workers that I’ve seen so far, with 7 task masters spread throughout the exterior, one for each group of ten workers. I’ve spotted three rangers, four warriors, and what looked like 2 mages that are posted in various spots throughout the area. The rangers are patrolling in arcs around most of the facility, while the warriors are paired, two to a mage, and are standing at strategic defense points on the other side of these buildings. That is also where the entrances are for the two completed buildings. I don’t know what’s inside of the buildings, as I haven’t been inside them yet.”

That was incredibly specific information. Just how long had he been here collecting info? Evileye snuck another look at him. Somehow, he noticed and shifted he eyes in her direction and smiled. She ducked her head and turned back away.

That had been a mistake!

Lakyus nodded. “That’s very thorough! Thank you for the info Stendahl-san. First, we need to find a way to separate the workers from the others. Fortunately for us it’s getting dark. Between Tia, Tina, and Evileye, they should be able to take out a few of the guards and herd the workers away. Once they’re done, Gagaran and I can charge into the base and take out the guards.” She turned her head to look at the tall man. “Stendahl-san, what type of fighter are you?”

His golden eyes met her emerald ones. “Oh, nothing too special. Most of my skills would be considered paladin I suppose.”

And he was a sneaky mother-fucker. He forgot to add that, Evileye grumbled to herself.

“Ok, then can I ask you to head to the other side of the facility and attack it from the other side once I give the signal? We’ll be quick to approach your location once I set off the flare, but I hope you’ll be able to handle yourself?”

“Sure.” He didn’t seem put off being by himself. “What shall I be on the lookout for?”

“I know a simple flare spell. It should be pretty obvious.”

“Excellent. Well then, it was lovely meeting you all. See you soon.” He bowed once and began to walk away. Once he passed behind a tree the groups’ eyes tracked, expecting to see him continue on past the tree, but he never reappeared.

Evileye darted around the tree and found nothing. It was as if he stopped existing!

Okay…

“I like him!” Gagaran grinned.

“I don’t.” Evileye rebutted as she walked back up.

“We can discuss our thoughts on him later. Right now, we need to start this operation.” Lakyus nodded to her infiltrators. “You’re up girls.”

The three of them nodded and darted forward.


	6. Bird of Prey

**Chapter 6: Bird of Prey**

**AN: Some AU encounters here to foster plot development.**

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That was a fun little trick he just pulled. It had been simple enough to activate his invisibility once he went behind the tree, and had left them puzzling over where he went. He wasn’t sure if he felt more like a trickster or a showman now that he could do stuff like that.

Hm, why not both?

What an interesting bunch they had been. Vörðr floated up above the facility once again, watching the two young teens and the cloaked one ran into the facility. They were an efficient little team, working to kill the patrolling rangers with speed and precision.

Looks like the twins had some sort of life-steal daggers and the angry one had a reanimation spell. Clever. Once they were done with the rangers, they moved to the nearby task masters and took them out. One of the twins would stop to converse with the workers, and once she ran off to join the other two the slaves went back to work as if nothing had happened.

After they had taken out all of the hostiles on their side of the facility one of the twins separated and ran back towards Gagaran and Lakyus. Vörðr then watched Lakyus raise her arm and shoot a flair off into the sky.

That was his cue.

Not bothering to move from his position in the sky, Vörðr reached out his hand in the direction of the nine remaining enemies. Given what he’d seen from the task masters, he had no desire to waste time trying to reason with them. They were clearly cruel and would be sacrificed for the greater good.

“Prismatic Irradiation.” He intoned.

Nine multicolored beams shot out from his outstretched palm and struck each of his targets in the chest. Normally these rays would impart some additional damage type, like fire or poison, but given how low-level these people were it didn’t seem to matter. The beams had simply passed right through them without stopped, burying into the ground. Each guard was left with a small round hole in their chest. For a moment they stood, then nine bodies collapsed dead onto the ground.

Easy enough.

Luckily for him, a medium level spell like that didn’t even break his invisibility cloak. From the ground it likely just looked like the beams had originated from a random point in the sky.

Vörðr continued floating in the sky, task complete, and turned to watch his temporary allies. They had gathered together and were stealthily making their way around to “his” side of the complex. After they circled the building the twins ran ahead, clearly expecting to find resistance to subdue.

He watched with great amusement as they discovered his handiwork, bewilderment clear in their movements. The holes his spell made were too small to notice in the dark, so it probably just looked like they’d all died from heart attacks. Once they had checked the whole grounds and spoke with the remaining groups of slaves, the Blue Roses grouped back together and approached the first building.

Vörðr was curious who or what was in these buildings, so he floated down and slipped in behind the women. He decided to secretly observe these adamantite adventurers as they worked. He wanted to know more of what they were capable of. Only if they looked to be in serious trouble he would intervene. They seemed capable so far, so he hoped they could overcome anyone they met without his help.

The women weaved their way through the dimly lit building, encountering no resistance. The empty halls and rooms echoed with the heavy footsteps of Gagaran. Some sort of machinery had already been set up, but the many empty spaces led them to believe a sizable amount of work was still to be done. As he trailed them, Vörðr picked up the soft sound of the exterior door opening.

More guards, it seemed.

The sound of… six humans entered the building. He could tell one was either very large or heavy based on their footfalls, while four seemed to pad softly behind. The final figure didn’t make a sound, but Vörðr could feel his energy. That would mean the person was a magic caster, and a powerful one by this world’s standards.

Vörðr looked up to see the Blue Roses pilfering a nearby set of desks in the large room they’d just entered.

Given the haste of the newcomers, he estimated they would find the Blue Roses in the next minute. How would these adventurers react? Would they hear the intruders in time?

Soon enough, Tia stopped what she was doing and listened. Then she shot out a hand to signal her comrades to halt as well. Each woman froze, tilting their heads to listen, soon enough they could all hear the rapidly approaching footsteps. Lakyus waved her arm and pointed towards the door to the room. The assassin twins were quick to take up residence on either side of said door, and Gagaran readied herself in the center of the room, clearly acting as the focal point to draw the enemy attention. Lakyus and Evileye flanked the larger woman and readied themselves.

Lakyus quietly issued a protection spell. “Increase armor.”

Each of them glowed a faint green for a moment.

Seconds later the door burst open and a large armored form surged through. The man spotted Gagaran and continued his charge, barreling into her at full speed. Gagaran leaned against his charge, and the two wrestled for dominance for a moment before breaking apart. Four more figures flooded into the room and spread out to face the three visible adventurers. The two in black robes raised their arms and fired off poison shot spells towards Lakyus and Evileye.

Lakyus simply turned her blade to block the spell, while Evileye dodged deftly to the side.

Tia and Tina nodded at each other and sprung out from their hiding places, intent on impaling the magic casters in the back. Unfortunately for them, they hadn’t anticipated the last enemy that had yet to enter the room. A floating necromancer appeared in the doorway and formed two fireballs in one hand. He flung his arm forward, and the flaming orbs shot forward, impacting the twin assassins. Tia and Tina yelped in surprise, completely caught off guard.

“Lightning.” The necromancer formed another spell and two electrical bolts leapt forward to impact them. Tia and Tina tumbled forward, impacting the ground with sickening thuds.

Looks like Vörðr would have to do some healing when this was all over.

Back to the fight, the remaining Blue Rose members backed up to regroup, grimacing at their odds.

The necromancer, an ugly man with a severely scarred face, began to taunt them.

“Ah, the beautiful Blue Roses. What are you doing so far away from home?” His voice wet and offensive to the ears.

“Six Arms.” Was all Lakyus responded with, frown creasing her pretty face.

Another member of the enemy party, a blond-haired man in a gaudy black and gold matador outfit, sneered. “They’re just fools. Somehow, they didn’t expect us to be here! This is the start of a grand new chapter for the Eight Fingers, so it’s obvious the Six Arms would be here to ensure pests like you can’t stop us.”

A woman dressed in black silk and a thin face veil laughed haughtily. “Well, we can make sure this will be their final mistake.” She threw a number of scimitars into the air, arching them gracefully like a juggler. Vörðr watched in interest as the swords didn’t fall back to her hands, but began to whirl around her via some unseen magic.

With two of the Blue Roses already out of the fight, the remaining members didn’t look very happy about their odds. These were four of the Six Arms, the security and protection bosses of the Eight Fingers. Each was assumed to be least adamantite level, given the rumors that circulated about their deeds.

“Let’s go!” The armored man whipped out a strangely flexible sword and charged Gagaran. The blond fencer smirked and advanced on Lakyus, along with one of the robed underlings.

That left the final three for Evileye.

Gagaran was forced to move carefully against her opponent. She was quick with her war pick, but the black knight was able to use his weapon’s superior flexibility and unpredictable movement to his advantage. For each swing she would receive multiple scratches as his unusual sword bent around her guard. The whip sword clearly couldn’t do much damage to her armored form, but soon the cuts would start to add up.

Lakyus was having an incredibly hard time with the fencer and the robed magic caster. Each time she attempted to use her magic floating swords to take out the caster, the fencer would step forward to attack. If she focused on him, the magic caster would take the opportunity to assail her with painful magic bolts. She was good, for a human, but her opponents seemed to know how she fought, and were exploiting her weaknesses.

On the other side, Evileye was being expertly handled as well. The two magic casters had spread out and were constantly hounding her with spells, while the woman with the floating scimitars danced and dodged through everything Evileye could throw at her. Evileye was quick though, and didn’t let them pin her down for too long before she released some sort of buckshot of crystals and dodged away. No matter what she did though, her enemies kept her from getting any closer to her friends. Their enemies were clearly intent on keeping them all separated.

“The Six Arms must have detailed dossiers on the Blue Roses,” Vörðr thought to himself. “They have divided their enemy efficiently and will probably conquer them soon. Unless, of course, the Blue Roses have tricks up their sleeves.”

Sure enough, after a minute or so of battle, Lakyus succumbed to the multiple stabs wounds that littered her body. She swung her sword one last time and the momentum carried her sideways. She performed a clumsy pirouette before tripping over her own feet and tumbling to the floor. The blond man smirked down at her, and then advanced swiftly to join his armored comrade in the fight against Gagaran.

Now with two new opponents, Gagaran ran out of options quickly. The knight and fencer expertly covered each other and broke inside her guard time and time again. As her strength began to fail her, Gagaran roared in defiance and reared back as if to throw her weapon like a javelin. With surprising speed, she pivoted at the last second and with a great heave, threw her weapon at the unprepared magic caster.

The man’s head snapped backwards and Vörðr heard a crack. His neck broken; the caster crumpled.

Gagaran stumbled forwards and fell to the ground. The fencer kicked her head once with a viscous grin before he and the black knight joined the fight against the final Blue Roses member. Clearly they were unconcerned about their fallen associate.

Evileye was too busy focusing on her opponents and barely noticed a new sword heading her way. She dodged to the right just in time, jumping away she regained her bearings. Looking around with great dismay, she noticed she was the last standing member of the Blue Roses.

Vörðr sighed to himself. He had seen all he needed to see of the Blue Roses. Adamantite adventurers were more powerful those he’d worked with so far, but still paled in comparison to the Nebulous himself.

Time to make his entrance and finish this fight, any longer and he’d have to start resurrecting the poor women. He felt a twinge of guilt letting them get beat up for so long, but he had needed to witness them fight without any distractions. He would think of a way to make it up to them later.

Walking just outside the room, he deactivated his cloak and strolled back through the doorway.

He stood there in the entrance and looked towards his enemies. The fight continued and no one even turned to notice him.

That was aggravating.

He had even done his best to stomp his way in, making what he was sure were loud, thunderous steps. Yet no one even flinched. Time to make it a bit more obvious.

“Hey!” He shouted.

Suddenly everyone froze and turned to look at him.

“Yeah, you lot! I’m not too pleased-“

He was cut off by the necromancer firing a single ball of flame at him. As soon as the man released it, they all turned back around to face Evileye once more.

The ball simply disappeared once it hit Vörðr, not that anyone saw.

Did they seriously think a single firebolt would take him out?!

“Hey!” He shouted again, frustration increasing.

The silk-clad woman laughed. “Oh, you survived that? Surprising, considering you’re a nobody.” The group turned to look at each other.

“Edström, you take care of him. And be quick about it.” The necromancer waved one hand at her.

She pouted dramatically. “Aw, but I don’t want to waste time with this loser!” She looked almost mournful. “I wanted to be the one to kill the famous Evileye!”

“Just get on with it.” The knight sounded exasperated before turning back to the final member of the Blue Roses.

The other four turned back to harassing Evileye.

The scantily dressed woman sauntered towards him. “You big armored types are almost always too slow to keep up.” She glowered at him. “Let’s just get this over with so I can get back to the real fight.”

He was annoyed before, but now he was furious. The arrogance of these insects!

Stretching his right hand out, Vörðr pointed two fingers at the back of the matador-looking man. He turned his head and locked eyes with Edström.

“Fury of the Gods: Overwhelming Malevolence.”

A red ball of light formed at the end of his fingertips. It quickly grew in intensity while a strange whirring noise filled the room. In an instant a glowing crimson laser exploded out of the ball, accompanied by an intense warbling sound, and pierced straight through the fencer. After passing through him, the beam continued through the building and exploded somewhere outside.

That 10th-Tier spell was absolutely overkill but these pricks had irritated him, and he hadn’t gotten a chance to test it out yet anyways. What better way than to punch a hole through that asshole?

Vörðr felt his control over his Coalescence waver and concentrated hard to maintain it. Revealing himself at this moment wouldn’t be ideal, so it would seem he would have to hold off on any other spells like that for a while. Another huge release of power and his human form would disappear completely.

The blond fencer looked down at the smoking cavity in his chest before promptly falling over. His allies stared with wide eyes at the body, then turned their terrified gazes to Vörðr.

“Do I have your attention now?” He bit out; teeth bared in fury. “You know what? You vermin aren’t worth any more time.”

He took off and crossed the room before anyone could move. An instant later the black knight’s head slid off his body, landing on the floor with a heavy thud. The remaining four had a chance to look surprised before their heads were separated from their bodies. Each body toppled, leaving a quiet room in their wake.

Vörðr had appeared on the far side of the room, flicking blood off his short sword. The paladin glared as he looked around the room. Four out of the five members of the Blue Roses were either out cold, slowly bleeding out, or both.

What a mess.

Despite her injuries and the stunning turn of events, Evileye rushed over to Lakyus. The leader of the Blue Roses appeared to be the worst off, bearing multiple bleeding holes throughout her body. Her unconscious form still twisted up on the floor where she had collapsed earlier.

Vörðr approached the fallen woman before kneeling down and rolling her onto her back. He noticed Evileye started frantically grabbing at a small pouch on Lakyus’ body. After a moment she retrieved a blue vial, and Vörðr rolled his eyes. He’d seen the pitiful excuse for healing potions that people in this world used. That wouldn’t do any good here.

Vörðr pushed Evileye’s hands away and ignored her obvious glare. He held his own hands over Lakyus’ midsection.

“Healing Light.”

His hands glowed gold as the spell formed. A set of runes appeared underneath the fallen woman and glowed the same golden color. Before their eyes the wounds closed and the color of Lakyus’ skin returned. Once the spell was finished, the paladin stood up and walked over to Gagaran.

His anger was still steaming just below the surface, and that left him honestly surprised. Apparently those morons had really gotten under his skin.

As he approached, he noted Gagaran had rolled herself over and was still awake.

“Thanks for stopping by Stendahl-san. I owe you a favor or two, if you know what I mean.” She grinned and winked at him. She attempted to sit up, then winced and fell back onto the floor. As it had been with Lakyus, the warrior woman had multiple stab wounds along with quite a few lacerations across her arms and face.

“No need Gagaran-san.” His voice was low and restrained. “Healing Light.”

She gasped at the strange feeling of her skin stitching itself back together. Once it was done, she managed a painless laugh. “Wow.” She sat up easily. “I feel amazing!”

Vörðr reached out a hand for her to grab onto before hoisting the woman to her feet.

After that it was just healing the twins. The third-degree burns on their backs looked incredibly painful, so he was glad they were out cold. Once the paladin was done mending their wounds, he picked them up one at a time bridal style and placed their bodies next to their leader’s.

He looked up at the last member, who was hovering nearby.

“Evileye-san, if you don’t mind, I’d like to heal your wounds.”

She grabbed her obviously bleeding arm defensively. “I have a potion I can take; you don’t need to.” Her words didn’t contain any real energy in them.

He was still testy from the imbeciles earlier, so he smiled at her through clenched teeth. “It would be a waste of a potion with me here, Evileye-san.” He held out his palm in a placating gesture.

She stood still for a moment before nodding almost imperceptibly. Vörðr walked over and noticed plenty of cuts and burns on her cloak, as well as a crack in her mask. He simply repeated the same healing spell.

As the spell sprung to life, Vörðr noted an odd feeling.

It was difficult to put to words, but when he healed someone, he could feel the spell as it worked on their bodies. Or at least that’s what he thought he was feeling. Healing Evileye though was different, she felt… colder? Her insides definitely felt more muddied than the others. Perhaps she was just different?

Maybe she was hiding elf ears under that hood, Vörðr thought to himself.

The woman in question stiffened slightly before relaxing as her aches melted away.

“Thank you.”

“I believe I can fix your mask too, if you’ll let me.”

She nodded again and slowly reached up to take her mask off. Removing it, she revealed bright red eyes and an attractive young face. She looked away as she handed him the mask, clearly unhappy with her face being exposed. He didn’t care too much at the moment and pondered his situation as he held the mask.

Somehow the arrogance of those insects had really riled him up. He normally wouldn’t remain seething like this so long after solving the problem, or in this case, eliminating the annoyance.

He really needed to improve his mood right now, or he might do or say something he regretted. He thought back to random bits of advice he’d gotten from people on dealing with anger. One came to mind; someone had told him that giving honest compliments to others could help improve your own mood. He figured he had nothing to lose at the moment, so he would give it a whirl.

“Restore Item.” A spell normally used to repair Yggdrasil equipment that had been degraded. The man hoped it would work the same here. Sure enough, the crack mended itself and the mask looked good as new. He handed it back to her.

“Is that mask enchanted or something?” He questioned.

“What? No not really…” She trailed off unsure of why he was asking.

“I was just curious why you just to hide your face with it. You are very pretty.” He hadn’t thrown out many compliments so far in this world, but this one felt deserving.

Sure enough, he felt as if the lid had been taken off the boiling pot that had been his anger, and the fury began to flow out of him. His relief evident, he genuinely smiled at her.

Evileye simply turned away and quickly reattached her mask.

Ah well, perhaps she had another reason to use the mask that she didn’t want to share. Vörðr shrugged to himself, it had been an honest compliment and helped his own mood, so no harm.

He looked back at the unconscious bodies.

“They’ll probably be awake soon,” he gestured towards her comrades. “Gagaran-san and Evileye-san, can you two look over them while I search the area? We don’t want any more surprises.” The huge woman sent him a grin and thumbs up while the shorter one just nodded with her back turned, either speechless or refusing to talk to him.

He nodded at them and went about combing the area. He couldn’t sense any more enemies, but he was curious what secrets this facility held.

After a few minutes of rapid-fire searching, he had found every useful piece of information here. Having completed his task, he walked back to the room and found everyone up and awake.

“Good to see you again.” Lakyus smiled at him.

He placed a few scrolls and pieces of parchment nearby on a desk. “You as well Lakyus, I’m glad you’re already up and about.”

“To be honest, I shouldn’t be. But your healing is truly incredible. I feel better than I have in a long time. Thank you!” She bowed deeply.

“Ah, it was the least I could do, considering the state you all were in when I arrived.” He then picked up one of the scrolls and tossed it at her. “I finished searching the other building and found some more information about this Eight Fingers group. It seems like they had more plans to expand into the theocracy. Now though… it’s likely this entire operation has been curtailed. They’ll be hurting from this for a long time, I think.”

“You took out 4 of the Six Arms, Stendahl-san.” Tia spoke up.

“Most impressive, Stendahl-san.” Tina included.

“We’d probably be dead if it wasn’t for you!” Gagaran laughed, weirdly upbeat considering what she just said.

“Thank you.” A quiet voice came from Evileye.

Their thanks brought the little bit of guilt he felt rise to the surface, but he pushed that thought aside for now.

“You are all very welcome. Now, I would say our work here is done. Besides the workers there isn’t anyone left here. Speaking of those unfortunate slaves, I’m guessing they were brought here from your kingdom. Would you happen to have a way to help them back to their families? I have Fenrir, but he could probably only carry 7 at a time.” The paladin shrugged.

Lakyus gave him a curious look at the mention of a mount that could carry 7 people, but figured she misheard him. “We will have to stop off in E-Rantel and let the local government know that they have citizens to the south that need assistance. The workers just have to get across the border and they’ll be safe.”

“Great! I suppose I’ll be off then, since you’re all healed up.” He made to turn away.

“Wait!” Evileye reached out. Then she pulled her arms in close to her sides, surprised at her own outburst.

Vörðr turned to look at her inquiringly. “Yes Evileye?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I wanted to apologize for being so cold when we first met. You just startled us and looked so smug. But you really did save us and for that I am grateful.” She looked away and fiddled with something in her hands.

He shook his head. “It’s really no trouble. I’m happy I was here to help the Blue Roses, who I’ve now learned are a famous group!” He smiled at them. “Anyways… If that’s all, I’ll be on my way. It was lovely meeting you all, and I hope we see each other again.”

Vörðr was especially pleased that he had located the an Adamantite adventurer group and was able to witness their abilities, along with their noble intentions. Sometime in the future they would make excellent allies to aid him in his goals.

But now he had no more reason to loiter here.

He had collected all the information on the Eight Fingers that was needed, along with proof of mission success. Adding to the fact that he had eliminated a number of malevolent actors, he was truly happy with how this mission had turned out.

Evileye stopped him again. “Uh… One more question, Stendahl-san.”

“Hm?”

“You’re not from the theocracy, are you?”

“You’d be correct in that assumption. In fact, I’m not from any of the local kingdoms.” He smiled at her before turning away and waving over his shoulder. He strolled out, leaving his temporary allies.

Once she was sure he was out of earshot, Gagaran smiled. “What a man! Kicked ass, healed us all up, was even concerned about those poor workers. He’s the complete package! And did you see the spell he used? I thought I was hallucinating from the blood loss!”

Tia, Tina, and Lakyus looked at Gagaran, hoping for further explanation.

“He shot this beam of… light that pierced through Malmvist and created that hole over there.” She pointed to one side of the room where a clean hole had been burned into the wall. “The sound it made; was like nothing I’ve heard in my life! Then the other five just lost their heads in an instant. I didn’t even see him move!”

The Blue Roses turned to look at Evileye to confirm or deny Gagaran’s account. She simply nodded once.

After they had gathered their equipment and useful documents from the building, the group made their way back outside. Once there, they found the slaves had gathered nearby. Lakyus was grateful they seemed to recognize her, and took her instructions with joyous tears and even few hugs. After instructing them, the Blue Roses began to trek towards their horses.

The women chatted idly as they went, at ease.

“Evileye-san, you’ve been strangely quiet. Even for you.” Lakyus spoke up, hoping to get the woman to explain herself.

“Oh, sorry Lakyus-san. I was lost in thought.”

“Shorty was just thinking about tall, strong, and handsome!” Gagaran laughed behind her.

“No!” She ducked her head and looked away.

Lakyus nodded in contemplation. “He was quite impressive. Well, at least I have to assume he was based on what Gagaran said. I’m kind of sad that I missed his fight with the Six Arms.”

Gagaran chuckled. “It wasn’t a fight, Lakyus. It was complete domination. The Six Arms didn’t even get a chance to move before they were all dead!”

“We’ll have to ask around to see if anyone’s heard of him. There’s no way he’s only an orichalcum plate. He and those two new adamantite plates…” She hummed in thought, then snapped her fingers. “Momon and Nabe, seem to have appeared out of nowhere, and they’re all ridiculously strong. I wonder if that’s a coincidence or not…”

⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎

Once he was sure the Blue Roses and the workers had gotten away safely, he turned back to the buildings. Once again floating above the area he gazed at the grey structures with disdain. No point in leaving these here to be used again once the Eight Fingers had recovered.

“Destruction of All Things.”

A series of rings surrounded him as he raised his arms in the air. The rings began to rotate, moving faster and faster as he held his arms aloft. After a few seconds he swung his arms down and the orb of rapidly spinning light rushed towards the earth. As soon as it touched the ground the ball detonated, bathing the area in light and rattling the nearby forest. Once the explosion died down, he gazed at his handywork.

A smoking crater was all that was left, perfect.

He floated back down to the ground and after a few minutes of gliding across the ground, he found Fenrir lazing in the grass.

“Hey Fen, let’s head back to Ylinford.”

He was sick of this place.

⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎

“Thank you all for joining me.” Maximilian, the Cardinal of Darkness, looked around the table at his fellow autocrats. “I believe I have found enough information on the old gods to help us in our current situation.”

Those around him watched with interest. They hadn’t seen hide nor tail of the man for the past two weeks. Finally he had come out of his research induced seclusion and informed them he had important information to divulge.

“I read through the report that Raymond-san wrote based on the 11th seat’s conversations with this ‘Vörðr’. I believe this further solidifies our belief that this being is of similar origin to the Six Great Gods. I have also been informed that the being has been residing in Ylinford and is currently masquerading as a foreign noble, is that still correct?”

“Yes.” Raymond simply nodded once.

“Excellent. Let me begin with some background. The Six Great Gods appeared in the world six hundred years ago, as you all know. They beat back the encroaching monsters and saved the local humans from extinction. This was when the Slane Theocracy was first formed, by those survivors. They worshiped the Gods, but there were those among them that feared what would happen if the Gods left.” He looked around at the other cardinals, a smile forming on his face.

“It was then that the founders of the Theocracy took a dangerous gamble. As we know, from the existence of God-kin like the captain and the extra seat of the Black Scripture, that the gods had taken lovers and mistresses. I have found in my research, that the first cardinals used those close to the Gods as hostages.” His smile grew broadly as he announced those findings.

He had discovered one of the best kept secrets in the Theocracy! A way to control even the Gods themselves!

Those that sat around him were astonished by that revelation. To hold the gods’ loved ones as prisoners was despicable, and yet unbelievably genius at the same time.

“You propose we find a way to do the same with ‘Vörðr’?” Berenice questioned.

“Precisely. If he has any affections, we need to exploit them! We can use that to bend him to our will!”

“That is indeed a brilliant plan but,” Dominic shook his head. “Our spies have not reported any such activities. He has, at most, platonic relationships with a few adventurers.”

“Then we need to create an environment where he will be seduced!” Yvon exclaimed. “What about the extra seat? Based on her profile I believe she will already be yearning to sleep with him. We should use her desire and attempt to encourage her to form a bond with him!”

“The extra seat is already unpredictable and powerful within her own right. Are we sure that is wise? We would need a way to restrain or coerce her to do our bidding, should they form a bond.” Raymond questioned.

Yvon nodded. “True, but at the moment that’s the only viable plan we have. We’ve been forced to watch as this god parades around one of our cities. Given how soundly he defeated the Black Scripture, we all know we have no way to subdue him by force. We need to act soon or I fear he will escape our grasp.”

⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎

Vörðr returned to Ylinford and was forced to wait until later in the morning to give his report to Henvidd. Once that was completed, he considered his next action.

Given how much money he’d made off that single mission, the “noble” decided he needn’t take any more quests in the immediate future. Despite his reprieve from formal missions though, there would be no relaxation for the Nebulous. He needed to spend more time interacting with the citizens and forging more equipment for the elves.

Vörðr never truly needed rest as long as he didn’t stay as a human for too long. While true in a physical sense, the mental strain was beginning to pile on. He was essentially attempting a coup, and the whole time he was here he was either acting as a noble to the humans or as a god to the elves. And all of this was just the first step in a grand plan to unite the world against certain Armageddon.

It was a weird feeling.

Nothing he’d even found so far in this world told him there would be some world ending event, yet he felt sure of that fact even to his very core. It was as if he had something inside his head constantly whispering to him, telling him he had to unify the world and prepare for the end of days. There was no actual whispering, at least not the Vörðr could hear, but it sure felt like it some days.

Even with that drive inside of him, the Nebulous wished he could take a break at some point. That would have to wait though, he had too much to do.

The next day he took stock of his current reputation in Ylinford. Overall, he felt as though a good portion of the city had positive opinions of him, while most of the city at least knew of his name. That was good enough to begin the next phase of his plan.

Also, if he was being totally honest, he was itching to get Roc out into this world.

Jumping onto Fenrir, he instructed the wolf to make a mad dash towards the mountains. The trees and countryside blurred by as the beast ran.

Vörðr wanted to put at least a few hours between himself and any large town, as he had a feeling this summoning would be unique.

Once Fenrir had been running for a few hours and the mountains grew large in front of him, Vörðr instructed his wolf to find a large clearing. Within a minute they entered a break in the trees and gazed upon a number of grassy hills.

This place should work fine.

“Good boy Fen.” He patted his companion a few times. “You ready to see one of your siblings?” The wolf barked happily.

The Nebulous dropped his human form and began to ascending into the sky. He enjoyed how it felt to be a human, but had noticed after a while it felt… restraining. Like he was trying to fit into a suit that was just a little too small. The transition to his true form always felt at least a little relieving.

Looking at the earth below him, he gazed upon the unadulterated nature spread out for miles around.

Good, he didn’t want anyone seeing what was about to happen. Reaching into the space of his inventory, the floating immortal pulled out a black and white wand.

He had been waiting for this moment, and was almost giddy at the prospect of seeing his favorite legendary mount. He loved each of his summonses, but this one was special to him. Roc had been a reward for completing a world event in Vanaheimr, defending it over the course of three full days.

Raising the wand above his head, he activated it.

A huge bolt of lightning shot out from the small wooden rod and pierced the heavens. The crack of thunder echoed off of the ground and surrounding hills. A once clear day began to fill with dark clouds before his very eyes. Lightning began to arc though the sky, and more thunder boomed overhead.

He observed the rapid shift of weather with a passive gaze, waiting for Roc to arrive.

After a minute of increasing electrical activity above, he spotted an ominous shadow within the flash of a lightning strike. It looked pretty small from where he was, but given how high the clouds were above him, he knew looks were deceiving. The dark form disappeared back into the clouds.

Another lightning flash and roll of thunder, and he located the object again, this time it appeared to be headed in his direction.

Amidst the rumbling thunder he heard it.

A powerful screech reached him and shook him to the core. The high-pitched sound was odd among the rumbling and crashing of thunder, but felt right to Vörðr. The avian was illuminated again and then broke through the clouds, diving straight for him.

He was in awe! Just as with Fenrir, Roc was significantly larger than her Yggdrasil form.

Even far above him he could see its massive wings pulled back in the dive. As it rapidly approached him, the size of the beast became even more apparent. Within seconds it blotted out part of the sky above him. In an instant the creature unfurled its wings and halted its descent. Breaking to the right, the avian began to circle downward, getting lower and lower with each passing second. Vörðr watched with fascination as bolts of electricity exploded out from its wings and raced to the ground, sparking small fires in the forestry below.

It screeched again as it reached his altitude, and continued to circle him. He hadn’t noticed before, but the wind had picked up and began to whip around him with surprising force. The creature stared at him with its huge eyes, tracking him as it wound its way around the floating Nebulous.

After a few minutes, the bird halted and simply hovered in front of him. Its 6 magnificent wings beat a steady rhythm in the storm, holding it steady among the gale force winds. Vörðr noted just like in Yggdrasil, the feathers were pitch black but had a strange illuminance about them, as if the avian was lit from within. He also noted that rather than just two legs, the beast had four legs hanging down below its body. Its massive yellow beak opened as another screeching call was sent his way in the storm.

The largest wings produced a wingspan of at least one hundred meters, and its body from head to tail was almost as long.

“Hello Roc.” His melody sang into the wind.

“Greetings Master.” A smooth female voice spoke in his mind.

What?!

His mind reeled as he processed the fact that his mount just talked… in his mind!

“What?!” He shouted out. His mount in Yggdrasil had never spoken with him in game, and nothing in the flavor text implied that the avian was capable of such a thing. It was just supposed to be another legendary mount, like Fenrir and Jörmungandr. What made it capable of speech in this new world!?

“I have always been able to speak to you, but it seems now you are finally able to hear me.” Its-no _her_ voice was calm and clear in his head. On the outside, the black bird screeched at him, piercing gold eyes watching him.

He floated down to the clearing below him completely lost in thought, almost stumbling to the ground once he reached it. Roc floated down and landed with grace next to him.

Vörðr looked up at the avian, idly noting that she towered over him like a great feathered mountain.

“So…” He didn’t even know where to begin. He had expected Roc to be like Fenrir. Intelligent legendary beast, but no more than a creature. But Roc was capable of talking with him! And the words were in his head, which meant she was telepathic! That opened up so many questions.

Was she still his mount? Would she consider that service below her? What in the hell was going on?

“Master.” Her voice appeared again as she lowered her head to meet him at the ground.

Roc’s wings folded up against her body and her head moved closer towards him. Her huge eye bored into the Nebulous. “I am yours to command, no matter the task.”

He stopped his train of thought. “Wait, you heard all my thoughts?”

In the back of his mind, he recognized how silly his “real” voice sounded when he was confused.

He’d been too occupied to notice, but now a ray of sunlight hit him and he looked at the sky. Above, the heavens were beginning to clear, the sun peeking out from behind gray clouds. No more thunder reverberated around him, and he witnessed no bright flashes of light either.

The huge eye that faced him blinked. “Yes, I am able to read your thoughts and feelings.”

This was so much to take in. His legendary mount could read his thoughts! Wait… did that mean Fenrir could read his thoughts too? Did Fenrir speak?

Speaking of his wolf, the beast came bounding up and greeted Roc with resounding bark.

“Fenrir is… simpler than I am. But he is still able to feel your thoughts and feelings.” Roc rotated her neck to look at the wolf. “Hello Fenrir, dear friend.” Shifting, she bent her neck to nuzzle Fenrir. Incredibly, her head appeared to almost be the length of the wolf’s whole body.

Wait, so he could think something instead of saying it to them?

Fenrir barked in reply.

“Yes Master.” Came the voice again.

Goodness gracious. This was news to him!

Roc moved her head to bump him gently with her huge beak. “Please Master, be calm. We are not more than your servants.”

“Ok, whew. Deep breaths.” He steadied himself and looked into the golden eyes of Roc. He felt devotion, and an unexpected kind of love from that eye. That was all it took to break him from his mess of thoughts.

The Nebulous fell forward and hugged the side of Roc’s head. “I missed you Roc.”

She chirped and closed her eyes. “I missed you as well Master. I’m thankful you’ve finally called me.”

He spent some time just lost in the softness of her feathers, ignoring the world around him. As he stood there, he mentally removed all of his armor and left himself completely exposed for the first time since entering this world. He felt none of the apprehension he would have if he tried this in the city.

He was completely content in this moment.

Then a cold tongue rode up his body.

“Hi Fenrir.” He turned around and hugged the leg of his wolf mount. It was a weird feeling for him. Despite his normally muted moods, he still felt such affection for these beasts, as if they were part of his family and they had just reunited.

Reveling in that feeling for a little while, he simply enjoyed their company, trying to ignore the tasks and drive that had taken ahold of him ever since he arrived in this world. After some time though, he spoke up.

“Roc, will you be willing to play bad guy for a little while? I’m trying to endear a city of people.” He felt weird requesting such a thing but now that he knew she was intelligent, he needed to.

“Of course Master, I will do anything that you desire me to.” She lifted her head high in the sky and screeched out with ferocity. “The mortals of this world will quake before me, and rejoice as you protect them.”

Speaking of power, how powerful was Roc? I mean, she was absolutely massive, and clearly controlled the weather to some degree, but how did she stack up to him or others? Mounts never participated in combat in Yggdrasil, so could she fight here?

That was something he hadn’t considered. If Roc couldn’t fight then his plan was down the drain.

“Have no fear Master. Fenrir and I am more than capable of fighting. I am not entirely sure what level you would consider us. I apologize.” Her tone was remorseful.

“No need to apologize Roc, I didn’t expect you to know the answer.”

A giant legendary bird reading his thoughts was sure going to take some getting used to…

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**AN: I don’t normally do these types of notes but, can anyone guess how I came up with the name Overwhelming Malevolence? A hint: the spell was inspired by a popular video game villain.**


	7. Advances

**Chapter 7: Advances**

**AN:** **Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!**

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Albedo had joined Ainz in his office while he caught up on the week’s events. She watched intently as her lord scanned another parchment.

“Demiurge’s scouts managed to find the crash site of the meteor, Ainz-sama. While there was nothing besides a crater left, they did note markings in the stone.” She observed him carefully, noting his nod. “From what was seen, it appears as though a battle took place at the crash site. That is all we were able to discover, Ainz-sama.”

Momonga set the report down. “It’s likely that whatever fell was of high value, and two or more of the surrounding nations fought over obtaining it. The lack of bodies though is a curiosity though. It’s possible that the victor did not want knowledge of the fight to escape. We will have to keep our eyes out for more information on that meteor.” He looked over to see her bow deeply.

“Of course, Ainz-sama.”

Picking up a different paper, he began reading it.

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It was almost time.

After conversing with Roc for a period, Vörðr had informed her of the complete plan. Once he was sure she knew what to do, Vörðr and Fenrir raced back to the city. As they approached the northern gate, Vörðr noted how long he had to prepare.

In a little under three hours Roc would begin to set the stage for their battle.

Initially, the legendary bird would use her power over thunderstorms to blanket the sky in ominous clouds, similar to those that had accumulated when she had first been summoned. Once the entire city was under a darkened sky, Roc would descend and make her presence known. He had instructed her to do some superficial damage to the buildings with both her lightning and her claws. This would ensure that the people knew she wasn’t friendly, and that something needed to be done to protect everyone. Once he was sure she had the whole city’s attention, Vörðr would rise into the sky and begin their duel.

As he and his legendary wolf wandered around the city, the Nebulous pondered how he should approach the fight. This was an important step in his grand scheme, and so everything had to go off without a hitch. It helped that he was playing both sides of the table, but the presentation of it all had to be perfect.

First, Vörðr considered what kind of spells and attacks he should utilize. He had plenty of spells that he _could_ use, he just wasn’t sure which he wanted to save and which he wanted to show off.

It was key to remember though, that at this point he was posing as just a paladin. That meant he shouldn’t include his assassin, spell caster, or Nebulous-centric spells, as that might draw a number of questions that he didn’t want to answer. He wanted to ensure that the citizens of Ylinford saw him as an extremely powerful paladin, not someone with too many unusual or foreign powers. He knew for the average person if something was confusing or mysterious it could lead to fear, and that wasn’t what he wanted.

For starters, he could use his “Wings of Jupiter” buff, which provided a boost to his move speed and gave him a sweet pair of wings made of fire. They also worked as a “backstab deterrent” spell, as anyone approaching from the back would receive fire damage in return, not that he really needed that in this case. This would also look like the reason he could fly to the average citizen, not his simply “Fly” spell.

Going with the holy paladin role, he could also call upon “Heaven’s Wrath”, a paladin-only war hammer made of solid light. In Yggdrasil it served as a melee weapon that would deal divine magic damage on hit, rather than blunt physical damage like a normal war hammer. On top of that, each hit was accompanied by an explosion of fire, dealing decent AOE damage. Overall, it was a really helpful, if situational, magic weapon spell.

To complete his look, he could invoke “Blessing of Protection”. Simply put, it was a shield that was applied to either the caster or another target. In the unique case of a Nebulous player, the shield was always significantly larger than the Essence required to cast it, but it became only usable as “health”.

All of those spells would actually give him some pretty good buffs for the fight, as well as make him a giant beacon of light in the sky for all to see.

Vörðr had wondered if he should use his Valley of Death hymn that he had created. It sounded really cool to listen to, and he imagined that those around him would be amazed by all the buffs he would get. Ultimately though, he decided against using it. That was only to be used if he was in a fight for his life, and this was not anywhere close to that.

The other item on his docket was where to stage his lift-off.

The paladin could hang out near the cathedral prior to Roc’s arrival. That would be the literal center of the city, and due to how everything was constructed, it would be the highest point he could reach before flying. Those two points would ensure the maximize number of people would witness his takeoff from the very beginning, on top of the fact that high-ranking officials and nobles would be located there as well.

The more he thought about that option however, the more he realized that the rest of the city would get the impression that he was receiving power from the gods they worshipped. Vörðr wanted absolutely no association with the “Six Great Gods” of the theocracy and so a rumor like that would be far from ideal.

He had no doubt many would still believe he’d been assisted by their gods, but choosing that location would be like endorsing those speculations himself.

With that in mind, Vörðr discarded that option and continued to mull it over. He needed somewhere that was populated, but still a location he would be expected to be. Somewhere common, but with the right audience.

The Guild Hall!

That should work well! The hall would have credible sources in the adventurers that would be there, along with the Adventurer’s Guild workers. On top of that, it was right next to the commercial district, which would be full of people this time of day.

That settled it.

Vörðr considered how his “adventuring” had gone so far, and what more he needed from it.

Since coming here, joining the guild had been helpful in establishing his name in the city and surrounding towns. He had been able to show off occasionally to impress the people and establish more credibility for himself and his “country”. Instead of just being another noble to the common folk, he was becoming a friendly face. This meant that when he finally moved forward to secure the elves and the city, many more of the citizens would trust him rather than the government of the Theocracy.

Now that he thought about it, in a way he’d been campaigning for governor of Ylinford these past couple weeks. Hm, an interesting thought now that he actually considered it.

Moving on…

Beyond his rise to stardom for the local populace, Vörðr really hoped that his epic battle would be the last step that the guild needed to promote him to Adamantite. Being orichalcum had given him access to a decent income and already set him above the common rabble of the hall, but he needed that final stage.

Those that reached the “fabled” adamantite status were recognized in numerous nearby countries, from what he’d learned. That would be the next step in furthering his name throughout the world, which would help his ultimate goal of uniting all races and peoples.

He still held some disdain over the fact that adamantite was considered the best of the best here, but he decided to let that go. If the Nebulous were to be honest, it made his plans easier that he was head and shoulders above everyone anyways. It’s a hell of a lot easier to rule if anyone that challenges you can be bopped on the head and put in time-out like a whiny child.

Back to his current situation, Vörðr needed to make his way over to the guild hall.

Until Roc arrived, he would chat with adventurers and pretend to look at job posting like he’d done in the past. Once his avian made her entrance, the paladin would apply his buffs and then rise into the air to fight the legendary bird. He and Roc would duke it out in the skies above the city for a few minutes, ensuring that everyone that could would see his glowing form. Then he would “vanquish” her, and she would fly off into the sky.

Vörðr grimaced slightly to himself. If he was being honest, he was cutting it a little close with all of these last-minute decisions, but overall the man was happy with what he’d come up with.

Fenrir took a sharp left and began plodding towards his destination. Roc had been right, Fenrir could practically read his thoughts, at least to some degree, and reacted accordingly. That would absolutely come in handy in the future, Vörðr had no doubt.

“Good boy.” He patted the wolf on the head and received a pleased sounding rumble in return.

Once they reached the building Vörðr hopped down and entered. A few heads looked up and nodded at his entrance. As he walked towards the listings board, a voice called out.

“Hello Vörðr-san!” An always cheerful Hana bounded over to him. “Where ya been?”

“Oh you know, around.” He smiled as he gave the vaguest answer possible. This girl had become oddly attached to him, but he generally appreciated her unending positive attitude. “And how are you today?”

“I’m doing great! We just completed another mission and we’re here to collect our money.” Hana smiled at him. “Oh, I wanted to ask you…” She looked down and pulled her hands together, twiddling her thumbs.

“Yes, Hana-san?” Vörðr had a feeling he was being led into a trap.

“Would you… take our group on a high-level mission?” She looked up at him with big puppy-dog eyes. “I want more experience with harder jobs! And these silver ones are limiting us! But with you to protect us we could do so much!” She pouted at him, in a clear effort to appeal to his emotions.

Vörðr raised an eyebrow. He wasn’t a babysitter, but on the other hand… damn was she doing a great job at tugging on his, currently human, heart strings. She had truly been a bright spot in his time here so far, so he supposed he could return the favor.

“Ok fine.”

She jumped in the air and cheered. “Hooray!” With impressive speed she pulled a parchment from her cloak and shoved it towards his face. “I was thinking of this one!”

Clearly Hana had been anticipating a yes…

He skimmed it; a platinum label was plainly marked at the top of the page.

“Reaching for the stars,” he thought to himself with a smirk. Reading further, Vörðr noted the quest was to obtain some sort of crystals from a cave that had been taken over by a group of man-eating spiders.

Lovely.

Not even remotely a challenge for him, but it could prove to be quite difficult for Hana and her comrades.

“Very well… but!” He pushed the parchment aside to stare directly into her eyes. “I will merely be there to ensure you don’t die. You and your teammates will be doing most of the work! You have to prove that you’re ready for this sort of mission.” He set his face in stone, unwilling to budge on the matter.

“Of course Vörðr-san! Thank you so much!” She bowed rapidly a few times. “We’ll meet up tomorrow!” Hana then turned around and ran away, almost radiant in her excitement.

She didn’t even bother to wait and see if he had anything else to say. With a rueful smile, Vörðr shook his head, “What a unique girl.”

After she was gone, he contented himself with reading the quest board and conversing with a few other adventurers in the room.

After some time, the distant sound of thunder penetrated the building. The paladin had to suppress a grin; Roc was approaching.

Soon after, another series of rumbles shook the building, these much stronger than the last. A wave of curiosity swept through the building at that. The patrons halted speaking or moving and listened intently. As if to reward their attention, the rumblings became intense claps of thunder, vibrating the chest cavities of everyone in the hall.

Vörðr made a show of looking confused and strode over to the front door. Walking through it, he looked up at the sky. Shadowy grey clouds moved at a surprising pace and were already encroaching on the city. It appeared as a great wall of darkness in the heavens, and within minutes the clouds began to overtake the entire city.

Evidently, and thankfully, this weather was abnormal for the region, as Vörðr noted most of the other adventurers had left the hall to join him outside.

The sky continued to darken, only to be lit by ever-increasing strikes of lightning. No rain followed those ominous clouds however, much to the surprise of the denizens of Ylinford. Across the city, citizens and slaves alike left their homes or places of work to observe the strange phenomenon.

More lightning crashed outside of the city, and then Vörðr spotted her.

Among the clouds and enshrouded in darkness, Roc was slowly circling. A flash of lightning illuminated her form, at least for those that were paying attention. She was still high in the sky however, and it would take a minute or so before the average person would start to notice her, Vörðr figured.

As he waited, Vörðr stole some glances at those around him. It looked like just about every person had left the building at this point, and the street was filled with curious onlookers. He patted himself on the back mentally, the guild hall had been the right choice.

After a short time, Roc began to fill up more of the sky as she flew lower and lower.

“Oh my god. What is that!?” An adventurer pointed a finger up into the sky, horror etched across his face. Just as those around him followed his gaze, another flash illuminated the massive beast.

Roc’s six wings were spread out fully as she glided down towards them. The glow that always emanated from her feathers was becoming more obvious now, and Vörðr heard shouts around him as more people spotted her.

The cries of the mortals were silenced as Roc screamed out at the city.

Her powerful call echoed off the buildings, and Vörðr noticed a number of the lower-level adventurers had begun to panic. A bright flash appeared a few blocks away, and Vörðr felt the crash of thunder within milliseconds. His gaze snapped to the sound of a secondary explosion and the paladin witnessed a church steeple detonate as if a bomb had gone off. The belltower splintered and was now raining bits of marble down onto the nearby streets.

Up in the center of the city, Roc herself flew low and smacked one of the cathedral’s towers, crushing it instantly.

Perfect entrance Roc.

“Thank you Master.” Her smooth voice flowed into his mind.

Vörðr raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I guess you can hear me now.” He thought.

“Yes.”

“Okay, circle a few more times and then land somewhere unpopulated. I’ll come to you.” He instructed.

“Very well Master.”

She did as she was told, and continued her path.

Down on the ground, Vörðr was readying himself. There was still quite the crowd outside, as almost nobody had moved, likely frozen in fear. Plenty for an audience of his literal and figurative ascension.

Vörðr wanted to laugh, oh how weak these creatures truly were.

Finally, Hana broke the shocked silence. “What are we going to do?” Her voice unsteady.

Her captain shook her head. “Nothing we can do Hana. That beast would crush us instantly.”

That was the perfect segue for him.

“You guys need to focus on rescuing the civilians that might be trapped in rubble!” Vörðr shouted over the thunder, rousing them from their shocked state. “We have no idea why this thing is here, but your priority is keeping the people of this city from getting crushed by the falling buildings!”

He watched with satisfaction as the steel in his voice entered their spines. Those around him began to nod in determination.

“I will go and try to force this creature to leave, or kill it if I can!”

“No!” Hana was the first to react, surprising him by grabbing his arm in fear. “That’s crazy Vörðr!”

Vörðr gazed at her frightened visage and smiled back ferociously. “Your land has finally presented a proper challenge to the Slayer of Giants! And I intend to accept!” He then reached an arm up towards the sky.

“Heaven’s Wrath.”

A bright light formed above him, then flowed like a liquid to envelope his hand. The intensity of the light increased, forcing everyone but Vörðr to shield their eyes. Once it dissipated, a huge glowing war hammer was held in his grasp.

He looked back at the girl, his eyes hard in determination. “Protect the civilians. I will handle this.” She looked at him with wide eyes before nodding.

“Blessing of Protection.” Hana and the others backed up as his entire body began to glow.

And now for the final piece of his “transformation”.

“Wings of Jupiter.” Warmth spread on his back and he could feel a set of wings grow from it. Vörðr moved them around, testing how they would work in this world. Fortunately for him, the movements seemed like second nature, and he would be using his fly spell to handle the actual flying anyways.

The glowing paladin bent his legs and then with a mighty heave, pushed off the ground. His wings beat naturally, almost of their own accord as he continued to rise into the sky.

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Keishara had been tidying up a few rooms at the inn when the rumbling started. She ignored it at first, used to the occasional thunderstorm that would roll off the mountains to the north-west. What caught her attention was when the lightning strikes started happening in quick succession. She put down the pillow she had been fluffing and walked over to the window. As she approached, a massive beast flew by.

Its huge form startled her so much, the elf jumped away from the window. Her heartrate soared and she could feel her eyes dilating. A raw fear gripped her as she fought to remain standing.

Then she heard cries outside. Not of battle or death, but of something else entirely. Keishara risked approaching the window again and looked out at the streets below. A flash blinded her and a crack of thunder rippled through the building. When her vision returned, she watched as the steeple of a church a few blocks away exploded and fell into the streets below. Another lightning strike hit a clocktower and it too burst from the energy.

She stood, transfixed, as the giant bird-like monster landed on top of a huge industrial building. It screeched out a call that terrified the elf woman to her very core. She gripped the windowsill in dread, unable to look away from the monstrous creature.

“Kami-sama,” she prayed silently. “Please protect us from this beast. Save us!”

As if he heard her, a shining golden figure rose up into the sky. It was hard to tell from where she was, but she swore it looked like a humanoid with huge fiery wings. The monster turned its head to look at the glowing figure and called out again. A bolt of lightning shot out from one of its wings and struck the person, but didn’t seem to have any visible effect.

The angelic being rapidly flew at the monster and within seconds it had barreled into the neck of the beast. Its neck bowed to the side and the beast let out a screech of pain before tumbling from its perch to fall out of view.

For a second Keishara couldn’t see the monster, only the angel in the sky. Moments later, and to her horror, the beast rose back into view, clearly undefeated. Bolts of electricity shot out from its wingtips again to strike the glowing figure, but somehow, he held firm under the onslaught.

Keishara hadn’t realized it until now, but she had begun clasping her hands together in front of her, like she was praying to the figure that was out there fighting for them.

In the back of her mind, she knew that figure was her lord, and that he was going to protect them.

The monstrous avian rose higher into the air and Vörðr followed suit. Once they were far above the city, they began a deadly duel. She watched as her savior would move closer to the monster and a bright flash of orange light would explode out shortly after. The strike would cause the monster to flail in the air, and in response it would fire off more lightning from its wings or snap forward with its massive beak. A particularly huge bolt of lightning came from the sky and Vörðr dodged just in time to avoid it.

Her lord continued to weave through the air around the monster, forcing it to crane its neck or flap furiously to turn to face him. Despite the size of the creature, it was clearly having a difficult time dealing with Vörðr. Keishara silently cheered him on.

The fight continued on for what seemed like an eternity to the elf woman.

Breaking her stare, Keishara briefly looked down. She watched in awe as the roofs of many buildings began to fill up with other spectators. Apparently the epic battle happening in the skies was more enticing than the desire to run away and hide.

Then, the avian then let out another call and turned its massive body away from her god. It flapped rapidly and began to fly towards the mountains, in a clear attempt to flee.

Keishara sent forth a silent prayer of thanks to Vörðr.

He had saved them all from death.

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“Ok Roc, I think we put on a good show. Go ahead and start ‘fleeing’ towards the mountains. I’ll make chase.”

“As you wish.”

She screeched out at him and turned. Her massive wings creating a gust of wind that nearly blew him out of the air. He held on for a moment as she picked up speed, heading to the northwest. He then beat his own wings and made chase.

Once they were many miles from the city and he was sure no one could see him. He let his spells fade away, having no more need of them.

“That was well done Roc! Now we just wait out in the wilderness for a day or so. Oh, I’m sure Fenrir doesn’t want to be left alone.” He reached into his pocket dimension and pulled out the whistle. He blew into it and put it back. “Anyways, I’m really proud of you Roc.”

Looking down, he could see she had decided to lie down next to a lake.

“Thank you Master.” She sounded winded, but pleased as well. Vörðr decided to join her, and flew down to land softly on her head. He relaxed among her huge feathers, content.

A few minutes later Fenrir came bounding through the trees and crashed into the side of Roc, as if to send her tumbling into the lake.

“Hey there Fenrir, nice of you to join us.” Vörðr floated down from his perch on Roc’s head. He patted his wolf on the nose, and once again received a huge tongue to the face in reply. “Ugh… thanks buddy.”

Fenrir padded around in a circle for a moment before curling onto the ground next to Roc. The legendary avian herself laid her head back down to relax. Vörðr flew up to land back on her head. The ethereal man laid on his back and simply stared up at the sky.

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It had been a full day since he flew off, and now he and Fenrir were being carried by Roc as she flew towards the city. Fenrir fit easily on her back, while Vörðr had situated himself comfortably on her head.

He had been thankful to learn that Roc could control the thunderstorms and cloud cover with ease, so it didn’t always need to be stormy where she was. Although it could never be a completely sunny day around her, as a few puffy clouds would always be present.

As they got closer to the city, he asked her to set down in front of the western gates, so he could fend off any scared guards.

As requested, Roc landed gracefully about 400 meters away from the gate. She then lowered her head to let him slip off easily.

Vörðr landed with a thud and strode forward to meet the incoming guard troop. He waved from afar, hoping they’d recognize him. Once the group had gotten close enough, they slowed and the captain called out to him.

“Ah, it’s you Stendahl-dono! You have returned, with the beast I see.” The man’s gruff voice clearly sounded anxious as he stared beyond the “noble” and towards the giant bird.

“Yes, as you can see, this magnificent creature and I have been able to… work out our differences. It is now my servant.”

“Incredible sir. But um, I’m not sure I can permit it within the city walls. Given how large it is, and everything...” The captain trailed off, looking incredibly uneasy as he continued to stare. Even with several hundred meters separating them from her, the soldiers’ fear was palpable.

Vörðr waved his hand dismissively. “It’s no problem, Roc seems to prefer the open skies to the city anyways.” Internally he let her know she was free to roam the area as she pleased, as long as she could return at a moment’s notice.

“Thank you Master.” She chirped at him and then lifted off. The gusts of wind battered the guards, and a few had to fight to keep themselves upright. Once she was away, the troupe seemed to visibly relax.

“Stendahl-dono, you are truly a godsend. I don’t think anyone else could have saved our city.” The captain and all of his men bowed deeply. “You have our gratitude.”

“You are more than welcome.” Vörðr smiled at him, happy to see his “fight” was already paying off.

“And the cardinal wanted to see you immediately if you ever came back. So please make your way to the cathedral as soon as you can.” The captain nodded at him, and then the guards turned and marched back to the gate.

Vörðr easily hopped up onto Fenrir and they too headed towards the gate. Even walking, the wolf’s giant strides quickly let them overtake the guards as they made their way along the cobblestone streets. Once he was within view of the church’s main steps, he spotted Henvidd rushing down to greet him. The large man, as expected, was huffing and puffing once he made it down close to them.

“Vörðr-dono! You’ve returned to us! Oh, thank the heavens!” He shouted amidst gasps for air.

The paladin hopped off Fenrir and landed with a thud. He strode towards the heavily sweating governor. “You had doubts?”

“Yes! Of course, of course! I had my suspicions that the glowing person floating in the sky was you. But when I witnessed you _chase_ it off, I feared the worst! I thought for sure our great city would have lost one of its favorite visiting nobles!” Henvidd’s thick words still felt like an assault on his ears, but Vörðr had gotten used to it at this point.

“Well as you can see, I’m still alive.” Vörðr spread his arms out to show a complete lack of injuries. “And I managed to subjugate the great beast.”

“You are truly a gift from the gods Vörðr-dono!” Henvidd looked up to the sky as if in a quick prayer.

Vörðr didn’t really appreciate his accomplishments being attributed to some players that had died 600 years ago, but he let it slide for now.

“Not only have you been such a pleasant addition while you’ve been visiting, but now you’ve saved our entire city from sure destruction! You have my sincere gratitude Vörðr-dono.” Henvidd managed to bow deeply as he finally caught his breath.

Vörðr bowed slightly in return. “You are welcome Haman-dono. I’ve grown fond of the people of Ylinford, and it would have been a shame to see this city destroyed and its people killed.”

“Yes! I’m glad we can agree on that fact.” Henvidd nodded his large head in contemplation. “Now I need to think of a way to properly thank you, Vörðr-dono. In the meantime, please consider anything that you might need. You truly protected us all in our time of need, and whatever you ask would be least I could do to repay you.”

“Thank you, Haman-dono. I will consider it.” Vörðr bowed once more and turned away. The paladin had to suppress a grin; this was going exactly like he hoped.

He hopped back on Fenrir and began to stroll about the city. The damage caused by Roc had been limited to a few specific areas, so life was already returning to normal for the citizens of Ylinford. News had spread quickly though, and where once only a few people would greet him while he went about the city, now almost everyone he passed waved at him or ran up to say their thanks. The elves were becoming more brazen as well. Many dropped what they were doing to run up to thank him directly.

He was now a local hero.

Perfect.

The time to move to the next phase of his plan was almost at hand.

As he meandered about the city a skinny man in simple clothes ran up to him.

“Stendahl-dono.” The man bowed quickly. “I am a representative of the Adventurer’s Guild. If you could please make your way there, Jennifer-san has important news to share with you.” He bowed again before running off.

Vörðr smiled to himself. That could only be good news.

A few minutes later he was entering the hall, and received quite the cheer from all present. His ever-growing ego inflated just a bit more. He knew he was more than powerful and obviously worthy of cheers, but his head was getting so big his helmet might not fit anymore!

Vörðr chuckled at the imagery.

“Vörðr-san,” Jennifer, the local guild secretary, called out to him. “Please come over here for a moment.” At her request, he strode across the room to stand in front of the desk. The normally monotone and expressionless woman looked significantly more pleased to see him now. “Your ability to combat such a creature, and how the damages were kept to a minimum have been relayed to the guild master. My own testimony, along with all those present yesterday, have swayed his opinion.” She reached down and grabbed something. Then she slid a small blue plate across the desk. “I hereby formally grant you the rank of adamantite.”

Vörðr was practically giddy as he removed his orichalcum plate and replaced it with the adamantite one. He nodded his head to her in thanks and then turned around. Many of the adventurers around him cheered or clapped.

He almost felt bad that he’d orchestrated the entire thing… almost. For now though, he’d play the humble hero: accepting of their praise, but not basking in it for too long.

“Thank you all,” he looked around the room at the cheering people. “I was just doing what was right and within my power.”

“There is one more matter that you’ll want to think about Vörðr-san.” Vörðr rotated and gave her a curious look. “Every Adamantite adventurer group thus far has created a name for themselves. Since this rank is only granted to a select few, those that make it to adamantite often become celebrities. A unique name helps give those around them something to call them.”

Vörðr nodded along, that made sense. “A hero title, so to speak.”

“Yes Vörðr-san, exactly. Unlike every rank below, adamantite adventurers are known throughout the local kingdoms and are free to move across borders without hindrance. They are considered people that fight for the good of the world, not just for a single entity or kingdom. Due to the increase in recognition and fame, some even have merchandize sold.

“If you do decide on a name, we will record it as your official Adamantite title. If other’s join you, they will fall under that same title, or you may alter it if you wish.” She smiled at him. “You have protected this city from a great threat, so I believe any merchandise with your moniker or likeness would make you quite a bit of gold. Just something to consider.”

Vörðr wanted to laugh, but held it in. “That had to have been something that players that came to this world introduced somehow. There’s no way merchandizing and superhero names were common before players got here. That’s hilarious.” He thought to himself.

“I’ll have to think on it, thank you Jennifer-san.” The newly minted adamantite adventurer walked out of the hall. As he exited, he bumped into Hana and her group.

“Oh!” He managed to look sheepish. “I’m sorry that I missed your quest! I was… a little preoccupied.”

The leader, Relli, started before Hana could open her mouth. “It’s really no problem Vörðr-san. We all saw what you did yesterday, including the town mayor who put in the platinum request we accepted. He happened to be visiting Ylinford yesterday, so he was more than understanding when I informed him that you were indisposed. We’re just glad that you’re safe.”

He bowed his head at her. “Thank you for the kind words, Relli-san.” He looked back up and grimaced. “It’s a little late to get started today… perhaps we could set out tomorrow morning, if that works for you guys.”

Relli nodded at him. “That will work fine. Thank you, Vörðr-san.”

He bowed to them and continued on his way out and onto the cobblestone streets. He thought back to what the secretary had told him.

Should he consider a nickname for himself now that he was adamantite?

There was only one of him though, so did he really need more than just Vörðr? Did he want his own superhero moniker like the others? Like the Blue Roses?

If Vörðr was being honest with himself, he didn’t really feel the need to create some sort of nickname, and selling merchandise just felt weird for him. He was here to be a hero for now, but he would be their benevolent ruler later. Would a supreme leader have t-shirts with his face on them? That just sounded silly.

On the other hand, if he didn’t give himself a moniker now, he was sure others would create one for him. And whatever ridiculous name stuck would be carried around with him whether he wanted it to or not. So perhaps it would be best to head that eventuality off and create one himself, so someone else wasn’t in charge of what he’d be called.

Vörðr waved at a passing group that called out to him, still lost in thought as he wandered the city.

What name would work not only now, but also in the future when he revealed himself and his true goal to the world?

Given how he looked in the sky, no doubt some were already calling him an angel or something related to their gods. That still wasn’t an association he wanted; he wasn’t a servant to the players that had died so long ago.

Initially he thought of what he would end up being to the people of this world once he fully revealed himself, a god. That would work later, but calling himself Kami now would probably not get a lot of support in the theocracy. Only the elves would be willing to go along with that, but their approval didn’t mean much to the citizens of the Slane Theocracy at the moment.

He could go with the figurative translation of his name. The people here had no way of knowing that his name was old Norse and meant warden and protector. Perhaps he could just use the translation and make it easy on himself. That was kind of his goal as well, to preserve and protect life and the world, right?

Or perhaps he could go with something snazzier?

The Golden Knight sounded kind of interesting, but also up his own butt more than he wanted. The Immortal sounded appealing as well.

That brought a weird train of thought to his mind.

Was he truly immortal now?

The Nebulous in Yggdrasil would mature after they manifested and leveled up, but the lore never stated that they actually aged or had a defined limit of how long they would live. Technically they were a collection of cosmic entities corralled together by the old gods. So would that mean he would stay alive long enough for the heat death of this universe and his own internal one to occur? Or would he age like a regular human who just looked different?

Bah, this thought process was entirely unhelpful at the moment. There was no way he would know unless he suddenly died of old age at some point. If he were to guess, Vörðr would assume he was actually immortal at this point, but he wouldn’t find out anytime soon.

Back to his moniker musings, he decided to keep it simple. The Guardian was an almost literal translation of his name, and so it would work well. It would also associate well with his true form, as it related to his ultimate goal. So even when he was revealed, he could still be called the Guardian, as that is what he always would be to the beings of this planet.

And, if he decided to join up with anyone else, or perhaps found one of his old friends somehow, he could just add an “s” and make it the Guardians.

Excellent.

“Might as well take care of it now, before someone else starts spreading a nickname that I don’t like.” Vörðr had managed to do a weird loop while he was lost in thought, and ended up close enough to the hall that he only needed to take another left and a few more blocks and he was back where he started.

Once inside, he paced back up to the desk and grinned at the secretary.

“Back already Vörðr-san?” She smiled lightly at him.

“Yes,” He nodded. “And I believe I have a good moniker for myself. I will call myself Guardian, or The Guardian. As that is what I stand for: a guardian of all life. I will always strive to protect all humans, demi-humans, and other intelligent life as long as I can, so I figured it would make sense to call myself that.”

The woman nodded and took out an official-looking piece of parchment. She scribbled some words on it and then slid it over to him. “This is just to certify that this is the name that you chose and are endorsing. It helps us for official guild purposes. Just sign on the line, Vörðr-san.”

Scribbling his “signature” down on the page, he passed it back to her.

“Thank you, Vörðr-san.” She pulled out another piece of paper and appeared to start reading off it. “You will now be listed under your moniker in all official guild records. Any accomplishments or deeds you do will be attributed to you as your new adventurer group name ‘Guardian’. Also please keep in mind that clients that directly request you will now be asking for ‘the Guardian’ specifically, and no longer your given name. You may introduce yourself however you wish, just keep in mind that this is how the guild will maintain your records.”

Vörðr raised his eyebrow at the surprising amount of legality, but nodded along. None of this was something he found the need to reject. “Thank you, Jennifer-san.”

“You are most welcome Guardian.” She bowed to him and filed away the paperwork.

After he had finished with that business, the paladin wandered around the city. As he walked through the streets of Ylinford, he was constantly stopped by humans and elves that thanked him or praised him for his deeds. One or two even bowed on the ground before him.

He felt torn.

Part of him wanted to bask in their worship, but another part, likely what was left of him that was still human, felt more than a little awkward. He had never been anyone of note on Earth, so he had minimal experience dealing with this sort of extreme admiration. After a small internal battle, he decided to just maintain his humble, and therefore relatable, hero persona.

Soon the sun began to fall and he headed back to the room that Henvidd had been providing him. He didn’t think about it, but he probably didn’t smell very good, and he needed to “refresh” his armor. It also wouldn’t be a terrible idea to change out of his metal attire, perhaps something a bit more comfortable.

As he made his way through the building, he pondered the steps of his grand scheme.

Everything had been going exactly to plan so far. He had gained massive recognition with the locals, both high and low in society. Given his new status in the guild, he would even start to be known throughout the rest of the world. Through the gossip of travelers, his name and new moniker would travel far and wide. That would give him a strong foothold in order to begin gathering people to his side and creating a unified planet.

As Vörðr thought to himself, he walked up to the door to his room and opened it. He never bothered to lock it, as all of his valuables he kept on his person. He continued his inner monologue and stepped through the doorway, eyes down in concentration.

“I wonder how the other nations will react – ” As he entered his room, he looked up and caught a person sitting casually on the bed.

A person that was fully nude…

And feminine…

And staring right at him with mismatched eyes…

“What the hell?!” Vörðr’s eyes bugged out of his head slightly. After a moment he whipped his head to the side and brought up a hand to block the view. “What on earth are you doing in my room? Why are you naked??”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Zesshi shrugged her shoulders. “I want you to fuck me.”

“Uh…” He sputtered, totally taken off guard. He stared hard at the wall to his left. “What…” Clearly his brain had yet to come up with a more concrete grasp of the situation.

Zesshi smiled a slightly manic smile. “You are strong. You beat all of the Black Scripture singlehandedly. You’ve known that we’ve been watching you, and yet you don’t seem to care. You took on that great lightning bird, and drove it away by yourself. You are the strongest person in the world.” Zesshi recounted everything that had been swimming around in her head all day.

“So I want you to fuck me, and give me children.” She stretched out on the bed like a cat, arching her back. She smiled up at the ceiling and touched her stomach as the thought of how powerful the children they would produce came to mind.

“What in the hell…” Vörðr was finally beginning to catch up. “I’m not going to fuck you Zesshi. Why on earth would you think I’d just screw you?”

Zesshi frowned at that. “Am I not attractive to you? I thought that men wanted to fuck all attractive women.”

“You are plenty attractive Zesshi. Just… that’s not…” He was sure having a hard time finding words. Her showing up naked while he was still in human form had really thrown him for a loop. “I don’t just have sex with whoever shows up on my bed.” He took a quick peek to confirm that she was still on his bed, naked. “Can you please put on some clothes?”

Zesshi wasn’t really sure why the world’s strongest being was reacting the way he was. “If you find me attractive, then why should I clothe myself? I want you to – ”

“Yes, I know what you want me to do.” He cut her off, sick of hearing her proclamation. “But right now, I am _not_ going to. Please just put on some clothes.” The woman stood up from where she was sitting and calmly walked over to the desk where her clothing lay. She picked up her undergarments and put them on.

“I am wearing clothing now.” She stated simply.

Vörðr peeked again to find her in underwear.

It wasn’t exactly what he’d asked, but it seemed like that was the best he was going to get at this moment. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed his head as the spike in adrenaline began to wear off. “Ok, let’s start again. Why do you want to have sex with me?” He eyed her critically. This woman, along with a few others, had been stalking him for the better part of two weeks at this point. She had also been the first one to physically attack him in that crater, and just before that had been staring at him crazy-like.

“You are the strongest being in the world. I want to have strong children, so I want you to impregnate me.” Zesshi laid out those facts nonchalantly as she sat back down on the bed.

Vörðr picked a chair in one corner of the room and walked over to it. Sinking into the soft cushions, he rubbed his temples some more. This woman had to be one of the most goddam bizarre people he’d met so far. He’d met some strange people in Ylinford, but she was head and shoulders above all of them in that regard.

The man did his best to ignore the slight tightening of his pants, his “second head” butting in was not what he needed right now.

“Okay, well that is not how I operate Zesshi-san. I don’t just… fuck random women. Even if they do want to have sex with me. I happen to be one of those morons that actually prefer to know the person before I sleep with them.” He couldn’t believe he was explaining that to someone who’d tried to cut him in half just a couple of weeks ago.

“But why?” Zesshi was in unknown territory at this point. She didn’t know much about human or elvish mating rituals. All the half-elf knew was that she wanted to have the strongest children possible, and that this man could give her that.

“That’s just… The kind of person I am.” Vörðr raised a palm half-heartedly in the air. “I don’t know what you expected.”

“I… expected you to be attracted to me and have sex with me.” Zesshi frowned more, confusion evident on her face. She looked over at him and he returned her gaze with a look of sympathy and small shrug. They sat in silence for a while, neither one willing to speak up.

Soon though, Zesshi got up and put her clothes back on. After another long pause she awkwardly walked out, remaining silent the whole time.

“What in the hell just happened…” Vörðr rubbed a hand down his face and sunk further into his chair. That had been the last thing he expected, and his brain was somewhat fried from seeing her naked body. He wasn’t lying when he said she was attractive, but he wasn’t just going to bone her because she wanted him to.

Matthew had always been a romantic when he was human back on Earth, and being here didn’t change him into some horn-dog.

He got up and closed the door, making sure to lock it this time. He then proceeded to remove his armor and get into the shower.

What a rollercoaster of a day.

⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎

Zesshi frowned to herself as she walked aimless along the city streets.

“I want to have kids with him, and the cardinals have given me permission to do so. But…” Her frown deepened and a small knot formed in her stomach. “How am I supposed to? I never thought I would get rejected… how will I have children with someone that’s stronger than me, but refuses me?”

She’d never thought she’d get this far only to be rejected.

Given her unique and unfortunate upbringing, Zesshi didn’t have many social skills and had never had relations beyond professional with anyone but her mother. When she was still young, the cardinals had decided that they’d rather take her away from her mother and control her, than let her have even a remotely normal childhood or adulthood. She was trained as a tool and weapon, nothing more.

Zesshi had never been allowed to have friends or socialize. As such, she had never known how to relate to people beyond how strong they were or if they had common duties.

Now that she’d found someone that was more powerful than her, and all of the theocracy’s best combined, how would she convince him to lay with her?

That created a weird sort of paradox for the half-elf woman.

Vörðr clearly wasn’t jumping at the chance to screw her, but she had no idea how to form an actual relationship with him like a normal person. Usually her problem-solving go-to’s were either to ignore the issue outright, let someone else deal with it for her, or resolve it via force, but none of those options worked here!

And so here she was. She’d found someone she’d been searching so long for, and yet she couldn’t figure out how to truly achieve her goal. It was like that Rubik’s cube. Always so easy to get one or two sides done, but completing it was the hardest part.

Zesshi decided she needed something that she hadn’t sought since she was a child.

She needed advice.

But where would she get it? Her mother was long dead from old age, and she wouldn’t ever get to see her again. There had to be someone else that knew about this kind of stuff!

She hummed to herself in thought as she walked.

“The captain!” Her frown rapidly flipped upside down as she realized who could help. “He will help me! He’s married now, and will know about how to fix this situation.” She ran off in the direction of the city stables, newfound fire in her gut.

⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎ - ⸎

Thankfully, in Vörðr’s opinion, he didn’t run into that crazy woman for the next few days. She either skipped town or was laying low for a while, as he couldn’t feel her among the spies either.

The morning after his bizarre encounter, the newly minted adamantite adventurer had escorted Relli’s group to the crystal cave, and true to his word, only intervened when necessary. The team performed admirably, and was able to make it most of the way through the mission before they truly needed his help. Once they’d exhausted themselves, Vörðr easily mopped up the rest of the spiders and collected the crystals.

Hana’s squad mates were well coordinated and able to handle most of the mission much to his surprise. That meant they were likely far above the rank of silver at this point. Given a couple more missions like this one, he could easily see them achieving gold rank.

After arriving it back to the city without incident, and once they got the payment, the temporary group amicably parted ways once more.

After that, the paladin made his way around the town. He spent the next day socializing and the next night manufacturing more equipment for the elves.

The day after that, when he had a free moment, Vörðr had made sure to stop by the Yellow Rabbit Inn. Finding Keishara, he asked her how the elves had perceived his fight with Roc.

To his delight she had told him that many of the non-believers had been quick to change their tune. Most saw how he was able to combat a being the size of a literal city block with seeming ease, and believed he was likely just as powerful as she said he was.

He was excited to get going with his little revolution.

It would just be a few more days, Vörðr figured, before enough of the elves were given equipment and he could properly announce his intentions. He knew that many of the humans wouldn’t take the loss of their free labor nicely, but he hoped that his evangelizing had done some good in the city. He would offer the humans safety if they agreed to follow him as well, but the ethereal man still kept his Nebulous form up his sleeve should he need it.

If things got too bloody or chaotic, he would simply drop his human form and make them kneel before the god that he was. Or at least what he appeared to be to them, the man himself still wasn’t sure what he actually was in this world.

As he made his rounds throughout the city, Vörðr figured he could check in with the guild. Perhaps someone was already asking for the famous Guardian.

Vörðr climbed the few steps of the hall and pushed open the doors. Marching over to the listings wall he scanned it. There still weren’t any missions at his level or even orichalcum at the moment, much to his dismay. Approaching the main desk yielded no results either, as Jennifer shook her head at his request for a high-level mission.

As he finished up and chatted with a few people, he decided to go check in with Henvidd to see if the cardinal and governor had decided on how Ylinford would thank their savior. As he made to leave, a conversation caught his ear.

“Wow, there have been so many high-level promotions lately! We have Vörðr here and up in E-Rantel they just promoted a team to adamantite as well! They are said to be ridiculously strong. I heard their group is composed of just two people, Momon and Nabe! I wonder if they’re as cool and interesting as Vörðr-san is…”

Vörðr stepped through the doorway and made his way down the steps, once again lost in thought.

Momon… where had he heard that name before? He was sure it wasn’t a name that was common in the new world. For some reason though, Momon had rung a very faint bell in the back of his mind.

Momon…

Nabe…

Adamantite adventurers Momon and Nabe…

…

…

Momonga!!


End file.
